Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Freddy Arias Zapata was extradited and arraigned on an indictment charging him with bail jumping, an E felony, in regard to three separate grand larcenies and a burglary that took place between May and November 2024. Zapata is accused of stealing luxury items, cash and other valuables from victims’ vehicles in Jackson Heights, Ridgewood, Elmhurst and Kew Gardens. The defendant has 14 total open cases, not including the bail jumping indictment against him, in Queens County with non-bail eligible offenses.

District Attorney Melinda Katz said: “This defendant is accused of repeatedly stealing other people’s property from their vehicles and then failing to appear at mandated court appearances following his arraignments. He then fled the state in the hope of evading justice. When defendants are released pre-trial on a pending criminal matter, they are responsible for returning to court and facing the charges against them. Failing to appear undermines the integrity of our system, denies victims their opportunity for justice and circumvents accountability. Willful and persistent absconding will not be tolerated by my office.”

Zapata, 31, of Daniels Street in Briarwood, was arraigned Wednesday on an indictment charging him with four counts of bail jumping in the second degree. Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino remanded the defendant and ordered him to return to court on January 7, 2026. If convicted, Zapata faces up to 5 1/3 to 16 years in jail on bail jumping charges.

DA Katz said that, according to the indictment, Zapata failed to appear for his February 28 court date that was ordered at his arraignment on four criminal complaints in December 2024. According to the criminal charges:

• On May 24, 2024, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Zapata broke into a victim’s vehicle parked in front of 82-66 Broadway in Elmhurst and stole the victim’s Coach purse valued at approximately $1,500. The purse contained AirPods, two credit cards, a portable charger and Mont Blanc eyeglasses, valued at $800.
• Between September 2, 2024, at approximately 3 p.m., through September 3, 2024, at approximately 3:20 p.m., Zapata broke into an unattended pick-up truck parked in front of 92-15 Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights and stole the victim’s wallet and house keys from the cab of the vehicle. The defendant went into a second victim’s Toyota Sienna in front of the same location while the victim was loading packages into the trunk. Zapata stole the victim’s Gucci shoes, valued at approximately $900, and Chanel glasses, valued at approximately $400, from the front seat of the vehicle.
• On September 3, 2024, at approximately 2:40 p.m., Zapata approached a parked Jeep Wrangler in front of 55-30 Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood as the victim walked away from the car and attempted to lock the doors. Zapata opened the back passenger door to prevent the vehicle from being locked and stole the victim’s purse containing $5,000 in cash from the front seat.
• On November 25, 2024, at approximately 2:50 p.m., Zapata broke into the cab of an Isuzu commercial truck parked in front of 81-18 Lefferts Boulevard in Kew Gardens and stole a metal lock box containing $1,400 from the passenger floorboard.

In addition to the above-mentioned incidents that are part of the bail jumping indictment, Zapata is accused of multiple additional burglaries and grand larcenies related to breaking into vehicles and stealing property between July 2024 and July 2025. He has been bench warranted on all nine Queens cases that were pending in court prior to his extradition, none of which were bail eligible.

Zapata allegedly fled the state and was arrested in California on August 20, 2025. He was extradited to New York on October 8.

So far this year, there have been 371 felony arrests and 688 misdemeanor arrests for bail jumping in Queens County.

DA Katz thanks members of the Queens District Attorney’s NYPD Squad under the supervision of Lieutenant Christopher Kehoe for their assistance in this case.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Shulman of the District Attorney’s Felony Trials Bureau IV is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Karen Rankin, Bureau Chief, Tara DiGregorio and Robert Ferino, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Supreme Court Trials Pishoy Yacoub.