The men were captured in Massachusetts after authorities accused them of stabbing Detective Jose Mercedes during a Bronx robbery.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — Two men accused of stabbing an off-duty NYPD detective seven times during a robbery in the Bronx were arrested in Massachusetts late Tuesday, ending a multistate manhunt that began after the Oct. 2 attack, authorities said.
D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, were taken into custody without further incident or injuries after investigators tracked them to Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The men are accused of attacking Detective Jose Mercedes, 33, as he was off duty in the Norwood section of the Bronx. Mercedes survived the attack and was released from Jacobi Medical Center on Monday.
The U.S. Marshals Service said its New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force developed information indicating that Caraballo and Mejia had fled the New York area together. Investigators tracked them to Massachusetts and carried out an operation with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service in Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Police and Lynn police. The men were arrested late Tuesday and remained in Massachusetts State Police custody Wednesday while awaiting extradition to New York.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch publicly identified Caraballo and Mejia on Tuesday as suspects wanted on allegations of attempted murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. The arrests came less than a day after that announcement. Police have said the two men are accused of attacking Mercedes on Friday afternoon near East 208th Street in the Bronx.
Authorities said the encounter involved an attempted robbery. Police said Mercedes was stabbed and slashed multiple times and that the suspects fled on an e-bike. Despite his injuries, Mercedes tried to pursue his attackers before collapsing. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center for treatment and later released. Police and fellow officers gathered at the hospital as Mercedes left Monday and continued his recovery.
The Department of Homeland Security said Caraballo and Mejia are citizens of the Dominican Republic who were living in the United States illegally. Federal immigration officials also said the men had previous encounters with law enforcement. Accounts of their prior arrest histories have differed among officials and news reports, and those histories are separate from the allegations stemming from the attack on Mercedes.
At a Tuesday briefing, Tisch said Caraballo had two prior New York City arrests, including cases involving weapons and menacing allegations. At that briefing, she said Mejia had no criminal history in New York City. Federal immigration authorities separately released information about the suspects’ immigration and law enforcement histories. Neither man’s immigration status establishes guilt in the stabbing case, which will proceed through the criminal justice system.
The attack and subsequent search drew the involvement of several law enforcement agencies. After the case was turned over to the regional fugitive task force, investigators determined the suspects had left New York, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Authorities said task force members worked across state lines before locating both men in Lynn, Massachusetts.
The arrests change the status of a case that, as recently as Tuesday, involved a public appeal for help locating the suspects. Caraballo and Mejia are now awaiting the process required to return them to New York, where authorities say they are wanted in connection with the attempted murder and robbery investigation. The allegations against them have not been proven in court.
Mercedes, who is assigned to the NYPD’s 44th Precinct, was recovering after leaving the hospital. Authorities had not announced a timetable Wednesday for the suspects’ return to New York or their first court appearances on the New York allegations.
Author note: Last updated October 7, 2026.