Criminals Running Amok in New York City

For a vivid example of what cashless bail and other soft-on-crime policies bring to a city, one need only look at the case of Joshua Padilla, an ex-con with 201 arrests who recently led cops on a hair-raising alleged stolen car chase through Manhattan. Two officers were injured trying to corral the maniac, police said, who was described as “human carnage on wheels.”

At the time of his arrest, Padilla had open robbery and grand larceny cases in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, according to sources. He’s already served time and has cases pending for forgery, grand larceny, robbery, burglary, and reckless endangerment.

“He steals cars, he commits robberies — robs people, banks, anything — assaults,” the police said. “He behaves like a modern-day outlaw; he operates with impunity.”

In the latest incident, Padilla was driving a stolen Dodge Charger on the Henry Hudson Parkway when police said they tried to pull him over. He allegedly crashed the car and took off running, leaving behind his 23-year-old girlfriend. To evade his 202nd arrest, he jumped off a 15-foot overpass and stole another vehicle, a Dodge Caravan that had been left idling. He then crashed the van into a patrol car, injuring two cops, and taking off on foot again before he was eventually caught, according to the complaint. The cops were treated for minor injuries at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital.

Padilla was taken to Columbia University Irving Medical Center with a minor leg injury and charged with two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and four counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

“It’s like he’s Teflon,” a law enforcement source said. “Arrest, jail, prison — none of it means anything to him. That’s what we’re up against.”

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The Padilla case is not uncommon in cities run by Liberal Democrats. A repeat offender with an extensive criminal record shot two police officers recently in San Antonio, TX. The suspect had exited an apartment complex armed with a rifle and took off in a vehicle driven by another person. San Antonio Police Department Chief Bill McManus said the suspect noticed the police trailing them and began firing, injuring one of the officers. The pair then commandeered a second vehicle and fled to another apartment complex, where they shot and wounded a second officer multiple times, according to reports. He later barricaded himself inside the apartment, but was eventually apprehended.

Chief McManus pointed out that the suspect had been out on two bonds for nearly a year despite committing additional crimes and being re-arrested and wanted on three separate warrants. He questioned why he was not in jail and why his bonds were not increased.