Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Chris Potter
By Forum Staff
A member of the MS-13 street gang, who had jumped bail earlier this year in his burglary and gun/drug cases, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after entering guilty pleas in both cases – including bail jumping.
District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant attempted to avoid paying for his crimes by jumping bail. However, the few short months he spent running from the law only increased the time he will now spend behind bars.”
DA Brown identified the defendant as Christopher E. Vallejo (also known as Cristofer E. Vallejo-Rivera), 26, of Richmond Hill, Queens.
Vallejo, who plead guilty to second-degree burglary in February 2017 and then jumped bail prior to being sentenced, appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron and entered additional pleas of guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree bail jumping.
He has been sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.
Vallejo was arrested in July 2015 and charged with second-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief and petit larceny. Specifically, he was charged with breaking into the basement apartment of a four-family home on 138th Place in Jamaica, Queens, and stealing money and personal property belonging to the two occupants. Police were able to recover three latent fingerprints from a mirror in the apartment that were a match to Vallejo’s prints.
Vallejo, who was free on $50,000 bail, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary on February 8, 2017. When he failed to appear for sentencing the following month, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he was indicted on bail jumping charges. Before he pleaded guilty in the burglary case, Vallejo was charged on April 28, 2016, with weapons and drug possession. In that case, police executed a court-authorized search warrant on Vallejo’s 108th Place residence on April 28, 2016, and found him inside one of the bedrooms. Police recovered several hundred dollars in cash, various quantities of cocaine and marijuana, and a safe containing a loaded .38 Smith and Wesson revolver and a quantity of ammunition.
At his arraignment, Vallejo was ordered held on $7,000 bond/$3,500 cash bail. On April 5, 2017, Vallejo failed to appear at his court appearance and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
