Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman today joined Nassau County Commissioner of Police Patrick Ryder to announce that a professional thief and illegal migrant has been detained and transferred to ICE custody.
Identified as “David Beckham Adam” on a New York State-issued driver’s license, the thief and a female accomplice were caught on video stealing a gold bracelet worth over $11,000 from an Oceanside jewelry store in late October. Following up on intelligence from international and local partners, the Nassau County Police Department found and arrested Adam earlier this month.
Under current New York State law, Adam would have been released on bail due to the non-violent nature of his crimes. Similar state laws also allowed him to obtain a state driver’s license without a background check or fingerprinting. But due to Nassau County’s comprehensive agreement with ICE, he was transferred to federal law enforcement and taken out of our community.
“[Mr. Adam] is an example of everything that is wrong with respect to our state policies regarding illegal migrants. This is exactly what we’ve been talking about all along,” said County Executive Blakeman. “If it wasn’t for our agreement with ICE, he would be back in our community right now, or he would be fleeing to another jurisdiction to continue a life of crime.”
Police Commissioner Ryder stated that Adam is part of a Romanian-based Transnational Organized Crime Group. He has several outstanding international warrants and was deemed a national security threat by the FBI. Commissioner Ryder said current state policies that allow people like Adam to obtain driver’s licenses without more comprehensive checks are dangerous.
“The number one way that terrorists are committing terrorist acts against crowds, as you saw in New Orleans, is with a vehicle,” Ryder stated.
County Executive Blakeman called on Governor Hochul and state leaders to make necessary changes to protect New York residents and stop dangerous criminals from threatening our communities.
“This is outrageous, and we have to change the laws in New York State so we can have the tools necessary to make sure this doesn’t happen. Only through good police work and our cooperation agreement with ICE is this career criminal, this international criminal, removed from the streets of Nassau County, the region, the state, and hopefully the country,” he stated.
CREDIT: Nassau County Press Release