A homeless teen who was charged with an attack on a plainclothes NYPD captain in Midtown last October has been released under New York’s controversial new bail reform guidelines after his latest in a long line of arrests — for allegedly joyriding in a stolen car in Brooklyn.
Elijah Hodge, 19, a suspected Crips gang member whose last known address was in Brownsville, Brooklyn, was granted supervised release for his latest alleged escapade late Saturday night by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Clynes.
A prosecutor noted Hodge has a history of failing to appear in court repeatedly, this year and in 2019.
“This is a strong case, your honor, in which the defendant was observed driving a car for five hours after it was stolen, and when pulled over, the defendant fled,” said the prosecutor, Adam Love.
Hodge, who has a lengthy arrest record, allegedly stole a blue 2009 Toyota Camry that had been left running in East New York on Saturday and then drove it from Brooklyn into Manhattan, where he was arrested after failing to signal near East 6th Street and Avenue D in the East Village.
Hodge smiled in court as he stood before the judge, then declined comment as he left the courthouse. He is due back at Midtown Community Court on Tuesday, Feb. 18.



