2 sentenced on federal charge in shooting of off-duty CBP officer in NYC's Fort Washington Park
Two men convicted on a federal charge connected to the July 2025 shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in New York City were each sentenced to more than a decade behind bars Monday.
Prosecutors said a gun jam and an NYPD officer's actions may have helped save the federal officer's life.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez and Christian Aybar-Berroa, who were in the country illegally from the Dominican Republic, were convicted federally of possession of ammunition by an illegal alien. Mora Nunez was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Aybar-Berroa, who acted as getaway driver, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years with three years of supervised release. When their sentences are served, they're subject to deportation. Both had previously pleaded guilty to the federal charge.
The two still face a host of state charges in New York, including assault, attempted robbery, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. Mora Nunez, 23, also faces attempted murder charges. They'll be back in state court to face those charges in November.
Police said the off-duty CBP officer was sitting with a friend near the Little Red Lighthouse at Fort Washington Park just before midnight on July 19, 2025, when the two were approached by Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berroa, who were riding a moped.
"One male dismounted the scooter, displayed a firearm and approached the two who were just trying to enjoy the city, like so many of us do during the hot evening hour," former Mayor Eric Adams said after the shooting.
Authorities said Mora Nunez shot the off-duty officer in the face and forearm, but the officer managed to return fire, hitting Mora Nunez in the leg and the groin.
Mora Nunez, who the judge said had allegedly threatened another officer while locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center and bragged about the shooting, cried in court and was shaking.
Speaking in Spanish, Mora Nunez said Monday he wanted to "apologize to the court and to the officer I injured and my family for all the harm and pain I have caused."
Aybar-Berroa was emotionless in court.
The wounded CBP officer appeared in court wearing a face mask. He declined to speak, but submitted a letter. He's had multiple surgeries on his face and needs more, and lost mobility in one of his thumbs as a result of the shooting.
At a hearing last week the judge said the officer testified he could hear blood running down his face "like a bottle of water being poured onto the rocks."
The CBP officer who was shot praised an NYPD officer who drove him to the hospital in a patrol car instead of waiting for an ambulance, saying that saved his life.
Prosecutors said the wounded CBP officer was alive because of his own quick actions, an NYPD officer, and the luck of the shooter's gun jamming.
Dozens of agents packed a courtroom in Lower Manhattan for the sentencing.
The Department of Homeland Security said Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berroa were both in the country illegally and had criminal records at the time of the shooting. Authorities said the shooting was part of a "violent robbery spree."
Authorities alleged that the two robbed another woman of her cellphone earlier that evening.
