MANHATTAN: An alleged serial stabber with dozens of busts under his belt was freed without bail — twice — because of a loophole in New York’s justice laws that leaves prosecutors with little time to secure indictments against dangerous criminals.
Dylan Maldonado, 26, a reputed member of the Bloods street gang, was busted in two separate assaults last month near his Midtown apartment and initially ordered held on bail in both cases, at the request of prosecutors.
But prosecutors in Bragg’s office weren’t able to put together their cases and present them to a grand jury to nail indictments against Maldonado in the 144 hours required under state statutes — allowing him to be released.
The career criminal’s bail was tossed in both cases, allowing him to walk out of jail, after prosecutors with Bragg’s office hit snags, according to sources and court records.
“If he’s a serial stabber, he shouldn’t be out on the street, that’s pretty obvious,” Steven McGregor, one of Maldonado’s alleged victims, railed to The Post Wednesday.
“What kind of social conduct are we trying to upkeep here?” added McGregor, who said he was still traumatized by the May 9 attack.
McGregor said he was charging his phone at a kiosk at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street when he was randomly hit in the face and slashed on the right arm.
“I haven’t recovered,” he said. “I got stabbed. It’s a life-changing event. It’s not something you’re going to recover from.”
According to criminal complaints, Maldonado allegedly punched and stabbed two men at Seventh Avenue and West 39th Street on May 9 — and then stabbed a cyclist in the leg on May 20.
He is suspected in at least two other similar attacks in Manhattan since Jan. 1 — and has dozens of prior busts in recent years, law-enforcement sources said.
“Catch and release does not work,” one frustrated cop told The Post. “You can see it in his eyes. This person is not well.”
Said another, “There is no way this guy should be walking around stabbing four people.”
Shortly after midnight on May 9, Maldonado — who is described in court papers as having “a tattoo of an AK47 firearm on his face” — is accused of stabbing one victim at the intersection and punching another “multiple times” before displaying a knife.
The suspect claimed to police the first victim “pulled out a knife on me so I pulled a know on him and we started fighting.”
Maldonado was charged with second-degree assault and ordered held on $10,000 bail at his arraignment two days later, court records show.
But on May 13, the case still had not been presented to a grand jury and a judge cut him loose.
A week later, Maldonado was arrested again near the same intersection, this time for allegedly hitting a passing cyclist and stabbing him in the right thigh, sending the victim to Bellevue Hospital, according to court documents.
Maldonado was charged with second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon and ordered held on $20,000 bail.
He was freed without bail on June 6, however, after the same law triggered his release.
The law was already on the books even before soft-on-crime reforms were enacted in 2019.
Sources said the delays in presenting the cases to a grand jury stemmed from prosecutors having difficulty tracking down a victim in the first incident, and being unable to determine from a surveillance video if it was Maldonado or his companions who did the actual stabbing in the other case.
Prosecutors had asked for bail in both cases, sources said.
Both cases are still pending but, because of the state reforms, the alleged gang member can’t be held behind bars on bail on either unless prosecutors get a grand jury to return an indictment.
New York City Defender Services, which represents Maldonado, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The Manhattan DA’s Office didn’t comment.
By Joe Marino, Jack Morphet and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon [New York Post]
