The Venezuelan migrant accused of robbing and exposing himself to Alvin Bragg’s assistant prosecutor yawned and smirked in court as he was locked up by a judge.
Tren de Aragua-linked Brandon Simosa, 25, was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly stole the unnamed victim’s phone.
Police said they were able to track the device to the Row NYC Hotel migrant shelter in Midtown, where the perpetrator was found outside.
Simosa was arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday and was charged with first-degree sexually motivated robbery.
But he appeared nonchalant during the hearing, at one point closing his eyes and lying back languidly across the courtroom bench.
Judge Janet McDonell also pointed out that the defendant did not appear to be taking things seriously – as he was pictured rolling his eyes.
‘He arrived here in New York in June and has managed to get arrested seven times since June, and at one point was smiling, and is smiling now, and I observed him laughing during the proceeding,’ the New York Post reports the judge said.
Simosa walked into the court smirking wearing a green jacket, jeans and black boots.
She remanded him in custody pending his trial. ICE has already put in a request for custody.
Simosa is accused of following the 38-year-old victim into her 44th Street building before demanding she hand over her possessions.
The terrified attorney handed over her phone, ID and credit cards, Assistant District Attorney Devin Horzempa told the court.
Simosa is then alleged to have yelled at the victim until she gave over her PIN codes and ‘began masturbating towards the victim for a period of several moments,’ Horzempa said.
He is then said to have run off and attempted to use the cards at a nearby restaurant and to withdraw money from an ATM.
Simosa was identified by the victim from a photo lineup.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Larmon said the suspect bragged to cops during his arrest, saying: ‘I’m all over the news, I’m famous, my friends told on me.’
Horzempa said Simosa confessed to the salacious crime in custody.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges during a Wednesday court appearance in which he was released back into the general public.
It was not the first time he had a brush with law however. Just last week, Simosa was picked up for grand larceny and criminal mischief in Manhattan.
Prior to that, sources told the Post he was arrested in Queens for a string of robberies between June and August.
Insiders also claimed that Simosa has ties to the notorious Tren de Aragua gang terrorizing New Yorkers.
The violent Venezuelan super gang has racked up more than 500 arrests this year in NYC alone, as the mob’s members commit heinous crimes across the country.
The majority of arrests were on charges of robbery and grand larceny, but the gangsters’ rap sheets also include assault and car theft raps, data obtained by the Post revealed.
More than half the bookings occurred in Midtown – where Simosa was arrested – according to the stats, with with 295 busts having taken place near tourist hotspots.