Pizza Man ICE Was Ordered To Free Arrested After Fight With Wife

NEW YORK — The Ecuadorian pizza man detained by immigration authorities while making a delivery to a Brooklyn Army base this summer was arrested by Long Island police last week. Pablo Villavicencio was charged with criminal mischief Friday after a dispute with his wife got physical at their Hempstead home, according to police and a criminal complaint.

New York City officials and advocates rallied around Villavicencio this summer after Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him as he delivered pizza to the Fort Hamilton Army Base in Bay Ridge. A federal judge ordered him freed in July, sparing him from deportation so he could pursue legal status in the U.S.

Villavicencio allegedly pushed his wife against a wall and slapped her body during an argument at their Hempstead home Thursday morning, the criminal complaint says. He then took her cellphone from the kitchen counter to prevent her from calling the police, according to the complaint.

Villavicencio, 35, was arraigned Saturday with his bail set at $500 bond or $250 cash, a spokesman for the Nassau County district attorney said. He's due back in court on Tuesday.

Villavicencio's wife had filed an initial petition to help him gain legal status before ICE arrested him in June. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty ordered him freed after nearly two months in jail so he could continue the process he had already started, calling him a "model citizen" and citing his lack of criminal history.

Because of the federal court decision, ICE will not take Villavicencio back into custody while he has pending immigration applications, ICE spokeswoman Rachael Yong Yow said in an email.

The Legal Aid Society, which represented Villavicencio in his immigration case, said it hopes he will still be able to obtain legal status.

"The past several months, including Pablo’s detention and threats of imminent deportation, have been traumatic for the Villavicencio family," Legal Aid said in a statement. "We are hopeful that this matter will be resolved and that Pablo will secure valid status with the continued assistance of our counsel."

(Lead image: Pablo Villavicencio with City Councilman Justin Brannan in August 2018. Photo by John McCarten/New York City Council)