Three Salvadoran nationals were arraigned on charges of allegedly possessing two Molotov cocktails and a gasoline canister during a traffic stop in Brentwood. Following the arraignment, all three defendants were released because the offense was not bail-eligible — that is, the prosecution cannot request and the court cannot set bail under the New York State bail laws.
On March 10 at approximately 1:38 a.m., a member of the Suffolk County Police Department conducted a car stop on a vehicle in the vicinity of Lexington Avenue and Caleb’s Path in Brentwood. After being stopped, the driver of the vehicle, Elvis Osvaldo Romero Martinez, 20, allegedly jumped from the driver’s seat of the vehicle to the rear backseat. The officer subsequently spoke to the defendants and observed two Molotov cocktails in glass beer bottles in the pocket of the rear driver’s side door, as well as a canister of gasoline in the trunk of the vehicle.
Based upon the investigation, the defendants allegedly possessed the Molotov cocktails with the intention of “firebombing” an automobile of an individual they had a previous dispute with, at the direction of a fourth individual, who has not yet been charged.
All three defendants were arraigned in Suffolk County District Court before the Honorable Jennifer A. Henry and Pierce F. Cohalan on March 11, 2026. As stated at the arraignments for the defendants, the District Attorney’s Office is only able to pursue charges under a subsection of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree which is not bail-eligible, meaning the District Attorney’s office cannot request bail and a judge cannot set bail.
As indicated by federal authorities, Alvardo Navarrette, 18, is a Lawful Permanent Resident from El Salvador and Yanes Moran and Romero Martinez, both 20, are undocumented immigrants.
“Under ‘Bail Reform,’ possessing Molotov cocktails, even when it is alleged that they were to be used to firebomb an automobile, is not bail-eligible, meaning my prosecutors cannot even ask for bail on three Salvadoran nationals with tenuous ties to the United States,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “The thing that supposedly never happens in New York just happened again — we cannot seek bail on a case that clearly cries out for bail — because of our unworkable bail laws.”
As such, all three defendants were released following their arraignments, despite their immigration status and the District Attorney’s Office stated intention of pursuing charges, which carry a prison sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Compounding the danger to the public, although two of these three defendants are allegedly here illegally, due to the ‘Protect our Courts Act,’ federal agents cannot come to the courthouse to take custody of the defendants here without risking arrest themselves,” Tierney said. “Although Bail Reform and the Protect Our Courts Act once again have protected criminals, including alleged criminals seeking to use dangerous Molotov cocktails to commit a firebombing, no one in Albany thought to actually protect the public.”