There's new trouble for a Bronx man who just a few years ago made national headlines as a cause célèbre for bail reform advocates, as he's now back behind bars and accused of attempted murder in an alleged street shooting near St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
Pedro Hernandez was arrested Monday in connection with the shooting that police said erupted over a game of cards on East 50th Street near Madison Avenue. The 22-year-old Hernandez was ordered held without bail in his latest run-in with the law, which saw him get charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and weapon possession.
Cops said Hernandez pulled out a gun during a game of three-card monte around 5 p.m. after he allegedly wagered cash and a gold chain and didn't want to give them up after he lost. Prosecutors said he became irate and chased after two men in his car. Hernandez is accused of firing into a car at the men, but no one was hit.
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No injuries were reported, but a bullet did break the window of a nearby car.
The district attorney's office asked for $150,000 cash bond, noting Hernandez has an open felony case in the Bronx, and pending charges in New Jersey and Puerto Rico. But the arraignment judge went way beyond that request, leaving Hernandez's lawyer disappointed.
"It's totally unreasonable, I think that there's a vendetta against Mr. Hernandez," said attorney Andre Travieso.
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"Once again he’s being treated unfairly because even the district attorney offered bail," said Jessica Perez, Hernandez's mother.
Hernandez previously spoke exclusively to the I-Team in 2017 from Rikers, where he refused to accept a plea deal in a Bronx shooting.
"I’m not pleading guilty to something I didn’t do," he said at the time.
Hernandez stayed in jail for a year before his bail was lowered, and a bail reform advocacy group posted the $100,000 needed. The shooting charges later dismissed by the district attorney's office after a witness refused to cooperate.
Hernandez has been arrested since then, on five different occasions, but never convicted. His family has a pending civil lawsuit against the NYPD for false arrest.
"The fight with the NYPD and the criminal justice system — when it comes to Pedro, is never unfamiliar to our family. We have been fighting for his innocence over and over and over," said Perez.
Prosecutors have said they not only have video evidence of Hernandez committing the alleged acts, but they also have a positive identification from one of the men he allegedly shot at. But Perez doesn't believe it.
"They have said a lot of things in the past that you, as a reporter and investigator, found out it was lies," she said to NBC New York's Sarah Wallace.
The case will now be presented to a grand jury. Hernandez will next appear in court on Friday.
