Dramatic video captures the moment an NYPD officer shot at ‘Own Every Dollar gang members’ as the BMW they were driving onto the curb almost hit a group pedestrians.
They were reported by Pergola restaurant security after they spotted them at NoMad in Manhattan.
In the past four months, they are suspected to have been responsible for at least twelve jewelry robberies in New York.
This shocking footage showed the BMW black hitting two other cars, before leaping the curb. The car narrowly missed the Manhattan diners who were chatting on the sidewalk. An officer opened fire at suspected gang members while the vehicle was speeding down the sidewalk.
Officer Brittany Vera (with Kenneth Taylor) and Brandon Lopez arrived on the scene to call Officer Corey Titus of the Manhattan South Burglary assaults and Robbery Enforcement team for support.
The officers were seen strategically positioning their vehicles to stop the suspect vehicle from being driven down the street.
Scroll down for the video
Amazing video captured gang members driving a BMW in black, attempting to rob a restaurant. The vehicle was stopped by officers.
In a bold attempt to avoid police, the driver drove on the sidewalk and continued his driving.
To pull away from the spot, the driver switched the blinker to on. The officers then turned their lights on.
As Officer Taylor approached the vehicle, he walked towards the driver’s side window.
After quickly putting the BMW in reverse, it hit both vehicles behind it and ahead of them before hitting the curb. Before attempting to pursue the escape car by foot, the officers moved away from the path of the car.
He drove on the sidewalk, desperate to flee the driver.
A second CCTV camera was installed further down the block and captured all the action. Two pedestrians were seen talking casually on the sidewalk.
A CCTV camera filmed outside Pergola’s restaurant captured a completely different view of the moment.
The black BMW narrowly missed pedestrians as it barreled down the sidewalk.
Officer Corey Titus fired three shots at the windshield of the oncoming vehicle
You can see the beginning meeting of the gang members with police in the corner. After the car was pursued by officers, police lights came on. Pergola pedestrians turned their attention towards the drama.
Two men standing on either side of the road approached the scene, before they appeared to see the approaching vehicle. They then ran onto the sidewalk and escaped the middle of the interaction with police officers.
The car almost hit two of the women, and three other men ran rather than jumping against it.
The officers fired three bullets through the windshield of the vehicle in front, and the two women were saved. The shots managed to stop the car causing the driver and two passengers to run away on foot.
After a chase through downtown, Wilson Mendez was eventually taken into custody.
His face was covered in blood. They ran off with the two men.
After the officer fired shots, the car was stopped and the three members of the gang were forced to flee on foot.
The black BMW 330i was recovered at the scene in the the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan
Ruger EC9s 9mm pistol was found defaced on the passenger floorboard.
Pergola Security Guard, that night, alerted police about the Gang members
Police found the vehicle abandoned near West 28th Street, Fifth Avenue. The police also discovered a Ruger EC9s 9mm rifle on the passenger floorboard.
Mendez (19 years old) was captured and brought to the hospital for treatment of cuts to his face.
Two counts have been filed against him for criminal possession of an unloaded firearm.
Officers have called the Own Every Dollar gang ‘vicious.
Police sources say the ring was linked to Trinitarios, a notorious Bronx gang that stole more than $4million worth of jewelry and watches.
This group robbed BMWs and Mercedes Benz vehicles in Manhattan, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.
The OED robbery Ring stole $150,000 of the jewelry belonging to a businessman who lives outside Asian Fusion Bistro Buddha-Bar Restaurant.
Two men were shot in the face outside Opus Lounge, Inwood on September 20th. One of their victims was robbed by the band of brazen thieves.
Jeffrey Sanchez, age 35, died after he was robbed and shot. Another victim was also shot in the arm.
The same gang stole a Rolex watch at a restaurant outside Philippe Chow, Upper East Side. This happened after 10 p.m. on September 15.
Wilson Mendez (aged 19) was taken into police custody close to Madison Square Park.
According to police, Mendez belongs to the violent gang called Own Every Dollar.
Police shot the car he was riding in and the teenager tried to get away on foot.
A similar robbery ring had robbed an off duty police officer with a Tag Heuer watch from Silver Tower Condominium just days prior, September 9.
Pergola Bistro’s latest incident wasn’t the only one. On August 19, they also stole $100,000 in jewelry from a customer.
A 47-year old man and his 27 year-old friend were taken into custody by robbers at the TAO Downtown, 9th Avenue.
New York City has suffered a series of jewelry thefts that have been attributed to OED thieves since June.
Three men beat and robbed a man aged 50 at Master Deli and Grocery, Bronx on June 29th. The thieves stole $750, cash, a Rolex, two iPhones, a necklace, and an iPhone.
On June 21st, Milton Grant, 34-years-old father to twins, was killed in his head driving. Randal Chacon and Randal Grant were approached around 5 a.m. by three men from Inwood.
After leaving Opus Lounge in Inwood, Grant’s gold-diamond-encrusted chains, rings and Rolex were taken. Police say Chacon received a gunshot to the groin when the robbers removed the chain from the neck.
A group of four Inwood men approached a 23 year-old man and tried to remove his jewelry around 1:30am on June 11.
Police reported that the attackers fired multiple shots at the victim, hitting him in the butt and chest. Then they drove off with the watch.
This vicious gang is alleged to have been responsible for at least 12 jewelry thefts in New York City over the past four month (detailed below).
Professional basketball player Taj Gibson was at the restaurant the night of October 11, but not involved in the shooting
The Own Every Dollar gang targets high-end nightclub and restaurant patrons
On the phone, you could see a NYPD Intelligence Officer member near the restaurant
New York City’s top cop blames bail reform laws enacted by the Democratic-dominated state Legislature for the spike in violent crime, including the gun battle at Pergola between NYPD officers and a gang of suspected jewelry thieves.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea blamed the ‘drastic reduction in incarceration levels’ for several high-profile incidents of gun violence throughout the five boroughs.
Wilson was taken into custody after Shea reacted to Pergola’s incident.
Shea told WNYW-TV that the NYPD is part of a ‘task force’ that involves ‘multiple federal agencies’ as well as ‘all five district attorneys’ in an effort to arrest and prosecute the gang members.
‘There have been some arrests but the problem is still ongoing. This boils down to two things, really – nightclubs and guns,’ the commissioner said. ‘Targeting high-end jewelry is what is occurring.
‘There’s been a couple of arrests. You can absolutely expect more arrests as we get closer to hopefully bringing this to a conclusion.’
When asked the next day whether New York City is experiencing an increase in gang activity, Shea said: ‘The gangs have always been an issue here. We’ve talked about it for a number of years.
‘You have to look at the incarceration levels. It’s a hard topic to talk about but there’s been such a drastic reduction.
‘I think that’s part of what you’re seeing play out.
‘At the state level, we are down significantly. Although many individuals get out of jail and make a difference in their lives, the truth is that not all do.
‘You’re seeing those unintended consequences on the street at times.’
The New York State Legislature passed criminal justice reform legislation in early 2020. It was signed by Andrew Cuomo, then the Governor of New York.
New York Courts can release prisoners who are not eligible under the existing law. The rules of this new law have been the subject of increasing scrutiny.
This law, which was in place in the first year of this year, abolished cash bail and pretrial confinement for the vast majority of low-level and nonviolent felonies.
Courts can release people under certain conditions.
Shea, along with others, claimed that the increase in violent crimes is attributable to the new laws.
Defenders of the law claim that violence has increased throughout the country, even in areas that have not implemented any reforms to criminal justice.