These stories happen so often these days that they have become tragically routine, but that doesn’t mean that the public shouldn’t be made aware of them. In New York City, yet another career criminal has been arrested multiple times, only to be set free without even posting bail. The suspect in question is 26-year-old Dylan Maldonado, a member of the Bloods street gang with a rap sheet as long as your arm. Rather than only carrying illegal guns, Maldonado sometimes prefers to carry a knife, allegedly stabbing some people seemingly at random. He was arrested for two separate stabbings last month alone. Each time, prosecutors almost miraculously asked for the repeat offender to be held on bail. But a “loophole” in the city’s criminal justice laws allowed him to be cut loose each time. (NY Post)

An alleged serial stabber with dozens of busts under his belt was freed without bail — twice — because of a loophole in New York’s justice laws that leaves prosecutors with little time to secure indictments against dangerous criminals.

Dylan Maldonado, 26, a reputed member of the Bloods street gang, was busted in two separate assaults last month near his Midtown apartment and initially ordered held on bail in both cases, at the request of prosecutors.

But prosecutors in Bragg’s office weren’t able to put together their cases and present them to a grand jury to nail indictments against Maldonado in the 144 hours required under state statutes — allowing him to be released.

I would first like to offer congratulations to the unnamed prosecutors who at least attempted to have Maldonado held over on bail. That almost never happens in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, so perhaps someone is beginning to get the message. But something still went wrong as the process unfolded.

Recently revised criminal justice laws in New York City only allow 144 hours for prosecutors to prepare a case and present it to a grand jury in order to have a suspect held on bail. After that, the suspect must be freed without bail under New York’s generous bail reform policies. There are two obvious problems with this. If that window of time truly is too short to accomplish the task, why was the window made so narrow?

Even more to the point, though, is the question of how Bragg’s office couldn’t put together a case in six days when they had a serial stabber behind bars. The man has been arrested dozens of times and is a known gang member. Are you telling us that you couldn’t print out enough former arrest records to show a jury with almost an entire week to do so? If there is a lack of interest in performing such tasks, then there is still a serious crisis in the DA’s office in terms of his willingness to do his job. If it’s a question of insufficient manpower, he needs to hire more prosecutors. It’s just as simple as that.

This is yet another example of why Mayor Eric Adams recently described the city’s prosecutors and courts as “a laughingstock of the country.” If you can’t put this gangbanger behind bars while awaiting trial after multiple stabbing attacks, is there anyone that Bragg can manage to lock up?

Chesa Boudin was recently recalled over his failure to enforce the law in San Francisco. The Post published a list of other soft-on-crime District Attorneys around the country who deserve the same fate. Alvin Bragg made that list. District Attorneys can’t be recalled at the ballot box by voters in New York, but the Governor can remove them at her discretion. If Kathy Hochul is watching all of this play out and chooses to do nothing, perhaps she should be the one worrying about being recalled.