A habitual offender has been apprehended in connection with the stray bullet shooting of a 17-year-old girl in a violent outbreak following the city’s Mexican Day Parade. The surge of violence also included a stabbing incident, as reported by police and sources on Monday.
Joel Nieves, 35, has been charged with attempted murder, assault, and illegal weapons possession for the shooting that occurred on Sunday evening in Midtown. The incident left the teenager with a gunshot wound to her left shoulder, with authorities indicating that she was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
The outburst of gun violence occurred shortly after a 24-year-old man was stabbed just around the corner at 28th Street and Madison Avenue, police revealed.
The suspect for that stabbing, a 14-year-old boy, has been arrested and faces charges of gang assault, according to law enforcement officials.
The stabbing left the victim wounded in the buttocks, and he too is reported to be in stable condition.
While Nieves faces no charges regarding the stabbing incident, investigators suspect he was involved with a group, which included the juvenile suspect, that engaged in violent behavior shortly after the parade concluded, sources disclose.
Both incidents—the shooting and the stabbing—appear to be linked to gang activity, sources familiar with the situation have indicated.
Police have yet to confirm if either Nieves or the 14-year-old has any gang affiliations.
Nieves’ extensive criminal history reportedly dates back at least to 2006. He was most recently arrested in August 2023 for reckless driving and related offenses.
According to the criminal complaint, Nieves was allegedly operating a moped without a helmet, which had a stolen license plate that was obstructed at the time police attempted to pull him over. He allegedly fled the scene, driving against the traffic flow and disregarding traffic signals for several blocks.
A judge had issued a warrant for Nieves’ arrest on July 12 after he failed to appear in court related to that earlier case, prosecutors noted.
Nieves has past arrests on his record, including a weapon possession charge in October 2017, though the outcomes of those incidents were not immediately available.
In August 2013, Nieves and an accomplice were arrested for allegedly using force to rob a woman of her belongings on the Upper East Side. Both individuals later pleaded guilty in 2014 to second-degree attempted robbery, receiving a sentence of six months in jail and five years of probation.
Additionally, Nieves has previously been arrested for various charges over the years, including fare evasion, obstruction of governmental administration, marijuana sales, and possession of weapons, among others.
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