Suffolk DA blasts bail reform after 4 men charged in Molotov cocktail firebomb plot are freed

Four men who allegedly showed up to a Brentwood street in the dead of night carrying homemade Molotov cocktails and a plan to torch someone’s car were indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury — then walked out of court free, unable to be held on bail under state law.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced the indictment Wednesday of Elvis Osvaldo Romero Martinez, 20; Albert Yanes Moran, 20; Lorenzo Nohely Alvarado Navarette, 18; and Lester Merino Avila, 18. All four face conspiracy charges stemming from the alleged March plot.

Tierney noted further that Martinez and Moran are Salvadoran national and that Avila is a Honduran national. Navarette is a Salvadoran national and lawful permanent resident, he said.

“These four defendants were indicted for conspiring to firebomb a vehicle, and my prosecutors cannot even request that they be held on bail,” Tierney said. “What’s worse is that all four defendants have ties outside the United States, making them tremendous flight risks.”

Prosecutors said that between March 9 and March 10, the defendants acquired the materials to construct the incendiary devices. In the early morning hours of March 10, they allegedly gathered near the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, where they assembled the Molotov cocktails pouring gasoline into beer bottles.

Avila allegedly drove toward Lexington Avenue with a second individual to locate the intended target, a vehicle belonging to someone one of the defendants had a dispute with. Martinez, Moran and Navarette allegedly followed in a separate car.

At about 1:38 a.m., a Suffolk police officer stopped the vehicle near Lexington Avenue and Caleb’s Path in Brentwood.

Martinez allegedly jumped from the driver’s seat into the backseat as the officer approached. The officer observed two Molotov cocktails in the rear driver’s side door, along with a canister of gasoline, authorities said. A search of the car also turned up a mask and lighter inside a bag allegedly belonging to Moran.

Cell phones recovered from several of the defendants allegedly contained messages documenting the planning and materials acquisition for the attack.

Martinez, Moran and Navarette were arraigned Tuesday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz on one count each of fourth-degree conspiracy, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fifth-degree conspiracy.

Merino Avila was arraigned Wednesday on charges of fourth-degree conspiracy and fifth-degree conspiracy.

Because none of the charges are bail-eligible under current state law, all four defendants were released. Martinez, Moran and Avila are due back in court June 17. Alvarado Navarette is scheduled back on June 18.

Martinez, Moran, and Navarette each face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top weapons count. Merino Avila faces up to 1⅓ to four years on the top conspiracy count.

_{Top: Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney speaks at a news conference in 2023 (AP Photo/John Minchillo).}