By Hank Russell
Three Salvadoran nationals and one Honduran national were indicted for allegedly plotting to firebomb a vehicle, only to be let go because the crime they allegedly committed was not bail-eligible. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who said the defendants are considered to be “tremendous flight risks,” decried the “failed” bail reform that allowed them to walk.
Between March 9, 2026, and March 10, 2026, three Salvadoran nationals — Elvis Osvaldo Romero Martinez, Albert Yanes Moran and Lorenzo Nohely Alvarado Navarette (who is also a lawful permanent resident) — and Lester Merino Avila, 18, a Honduran national, allegedly acquired materials to make homemade Molotov cocktails. The defendants allegedly conspired to use the Molotov cocktails to firebomb a vehicle belonging to an individual with whom one of the defendants had a dispute.
In the early morning hours of March 10, 2026, the defendants met in the vicinity of the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, where they allegedly prepared Molotov cocktails with beer bottles and gasoline. Merino Avila allegedly drove to Lexington Avenue in Brentwood with another individual to find the intended target of the firebombing, while Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran, and Alvarado Navarette allegedly followed in a separate car.
At approximately 1:38 a.m., a Suffolk County police officer conducted a car stop in the vicinity of Lexington Avenue and Caleb’s Path in Brentwood. The driver of the vehicle, Romero Martinez, allegedly jumped from the driver’s seat into the backseat. When the officer spoke to the defendants inside the vehicle, he allegedly observed two Molotov cocktails in the rear driver’s side door, as well as a gasoline canister. A further search of the vehicle revealed a mask and a lighter inside a bag that allegedly belonged to Yanes Moran.
A search of the cell phones recovered from several of the defendants allegedly revealed conversations between the defendants planning and acquiring the materials to carry out the firebombing.
On May 26, 2026, Romero Martinez, 20, Alvarado Navarette, 18, and Yanes Moran, 20, were arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz for one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony; one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a Class D felony; and one count of Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
On May 27, 2026, Merino Avila was arraigned on the indictment for one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony, and one count of Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
As a result of all of the charges being non-bail-eligible under current New York State law, all four defendants were released following their arraignments. Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran, and Merino Avila are due back in court on June 17, 2026. Alvarado Navarette is due back in court on June 18, 2026.
“Here is yet again another example of how New York State’s failed ‘bail reform’ statute does not protect the public and defies common sense,” Tierney said. “These four defendants were indicted for conspiring to firebomb a vehicle, and my prosecutors cannot even request that they be held on bail. What’s worse is that all four defendants have ties outside the United States, making them tremendous flight risks.”
Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran, and Alvarado Navarette face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. Merino Avila faces up to 1-1/3 to four years in prison if convicted of the top count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree.