A Briarwood man with an extensive rap sheet was apprehended in California and extradited back to Queens, where he was 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, according to prosecutors.
Freddy Arias Zapata, 31, of Daniels Street, was ordered held without bail at his arraignment in Queens Supreme Court on Wednesday, Nov. 19, on a grand jury indictment charging him with four counts of bail jumping in the fourth degree. Zapata is accused of stealing luxury items, cash and other valuables from victims’ vehicles in Ridgewood, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Kew Gardens. The defendant has a total of 14 open felony cases, not including the bail indictment against him, all with active bench warrants in Queens and faces 30 to 83 years in prison, if convicted.
According to the indictment, Zapata failed to appear in court for his Feb. 28 court date that was ordered at his arraignment on four complaints in December 2024.
According to those criminal complaints, on May 24, 2024, at around 5:30 p.m., Zapata allegedly 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 Sept. 2, 2024, at around 3 p.m. through Sept, 3, 2024, at approximately 3:20 p.m., Zapata allegedly broke into an unattended pick-up truck parked in front of the 115th Precinct at 92-15 Northern Blvd. 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 $400, from the front seat, according to prosecutors.
On Sept. 3, 2024, at approximately 2:40 p.m., Zapata allegedly approached a parked Jeep Wrangler in front of 55-30 Myrtle Ave. 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, prosecutors said.
According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 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 those 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 Aug. 20. He was extradited back to Queens on Oct. 8.
“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He then fled the state in the hope of evading justice.”
So far this year, there have been 371 felony arrests and 688 misdemeanor arrests for bail jumping in Queens.
“When defendants are released pre-trial on a pending criminal matter, they are responsible for returning to court and facing the charges against them,” Katz said. “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.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino remanded Zapata into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on Jan. 7, 2026. If convicted, Zapata faces up to 5 ⅓ to 16 years in jail on the bail-jumping charges.
