A College Point fugitive and his codefendant from Flushing were extradited back to Queens on Tuesday, April 21, after they were apprehended in Panama.
Juan Acevedo, 30, is being held without bail after he was arraigned on April 22 in Queens Supreme Court on a grand jury indictment charging him with escape, criminal contempt and criminal mischief for fleeing the country days after his criminal court arraignment on burglary charges for allegedly breaking into homes in December 2025 and February 2026. Acevedo was previously charged in a separate indictment for allegedly stealing cash, jewelry and designer handbags during three home burglaries in a single day last year.
Codefendant Jeison Figueroa Nomesqui, 33, of Flushing, was also arraigned on April 22 on an indictment charging him with burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes.
According to the indictment and investigation, Acevedo — acting in concert with two others who have not been apprehended — rented a Porsche and drove to three residences on March 5, 2025. At around 11:45 a.m., Acevedo allegedly broke into a home on Springfield Boulevard in Bayside, where he and his crew stole $9,800 in designer handbags and cash. When police from the 11th Precinct in Bayside responded to the home, they found a winter hat in the immediate vicinity of the home. DNA later retrieved from the hat matched Acevedo.
Just before 4 p.m., Acevedo allegedly hopped a fence and broke into a home on 219th Street in Queens Village. The crew stole designer handbags, jewelry and cash valued at $30,200. Later that same day, at around 5:40 p.m., Acevedo and others broke into a home on Boelsen Crescent in Rego Park and stole jewelry valued at $1,500. Unbeknownst to Acevedo, the rented Posche had a GPS tracker from the rental company that linked the defendant’s whereabouts to all three residences at the time of the crimes.
Following a long-term investigation into the burglaries, Acevedo was arrested and arraigned on Dec. 5, 2025, on indictment charges of burglary, grand larceny and other crimes. The court ordered supervised release with electronic monitoring as part of his pre-trial release conditions. Acevedo was outfitted with an ankle monitor on Feb. 25, 2026.
Following Acevedo’s December indictment, the Queens District Attorney’s office continued their investigation into additional burglaries and determined that Acevedo allegedly burglarized more homes in December 2025 and February 2026.
According to the second indictment, on Dec. 29,2025, at approximately 6:40 p.m., Acevedo and two others broke into a home on 166th Street in East Flushing and stole jewelry valued at $20,000. The jewelry was sold at an exchange in Manhattan the following day.
On Feb. 16, 2026, at 7:48 p.m., Acevedo and two others broke into a home on 229th Street in Oakland Gardens using a collapsible ladder and stole $100,000 in cash and jewelry. Codefendant Nomesqui was present at the scene and allegedly acted as the getaway driver.
On March 6, 2026, Acevedo was arraigned in criminal court on charges stemming from the Dec. 29, 2025, and Feb. 16, 2026, incident. The Queens District Attorney’s office argued for reman, but the court ordered continued electronic monitoring. On March 7, pursuant to the investigation into the Feb. 16 incident, officers attempted to pull over Nomesqui at the intersection of Cross Bay Boulevard and 107th Avenue in Ozone Park. Nomesqui allegedly made an illegal U-turn, sped past the posted speed limit and swerved in and out of lanes without signaling to evade the officers. He was finally pulled over and arrested for the Feb. 16 burglary as well as the vehicle infractions on the scene and driving with a suspended license. At Nomequi’s arraignment, the court ordered supervised release with a return date of April 22.
On March 9, two days after Acevedo was released with continued electronic monitoring upon arraignment, law enforcement officials received an alert that Acevedo’s ankle monitor strap had been cut and the last known location was near the Grand Central Parkway. Members of the NYPD immediately attempted to locate the defendant but were only able to find the cut bracelet at the last known location. A bench warrant was issued for Acevedo’s arrest.
The Queens DA’s office, in partnership with the NYPD’s Queens North Burglary Task Force, Queens Warrant Squad and federal law enforcement partners, submitted multiple search warrants and subpoenas in an attempt to locate Acevedo.
Following a month-long investigation, Acevedo was apprehended on April 1, 2026, at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City after presenting a forged Colombian passport before boarding a flight to Bogota, Colombia. Codefendant Nomesqui was at the scene and apprehended along with Acevedo.
The DA’s Extraditions Unit worked with federal and local law enforcement partners to secure the defendants’ return to New York.
“As alleged, this defendant cut off his ankle monitor and left the country after being indicted for invading the sanctity of people’s homes over and over again,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He blatantly defied the criminal justice system and we were relentless in returning him to this borough to be held accountable for his actions.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice David Kirschner remanded Acevedo into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on May 27. If convicted, Acevedo faces up to 79 years in prison.
“I thank the members of my Career Criminal/Major Crimes Bureau and Extradition Unit, as well as our state and federal law enforcement partners for ensuring the defendant’s return,” Katz said. “A codefendant has also been brought back to face burglary indictment charges. Both defendants have been remanded without bail.”
Justice Kirschner ordered Nomesqui to return to court on May 27. If convicted, Nomesqui faces up to 15 years in prison.