Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) pinned the murder of an Army veteran allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant in New York on Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s policies.
The Republican, who is running for governor against Hochul, said the Democrat’s “sanctuary state and failed bail reform” policies led to the murder of a 76-year-old veteran at the hands of a Mexican national.
“Kathy Hochul’s policies killed another New Yorker—this time a 76-year-old Army veteran at the hands of a murderous repeat offender in the country illegally who was released earlier this year after stabbing someone in an alleyway,” she wrote in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “This is another murder because of Hochul’s sanctuary state and failed bail reform policies.”
An Albany court indicted Albino Zacarias-Garcia, who is in the country illegally, on one count of second-degree murder on Monday. He allegedly killed Daniel Frament on an Albany bike trail in April 2024. His motive for killing the veteran is unclear. The victim had money on him that was not taken.
Zacarias-Garcia had been previously arrested on charges of stabbing someone in March of this year in Troy, New York. He also committed a separate assault that month. He had already been sentenced to 15 years in prison in August after pleading guilty to attempted assault.
Zacarias-Garcia had been in the country for six months before allegedly murdering Frament. He is pleading not guilty in the murder of Frament and is due back in court on Dec. 19.
Stefanik says her cashless bail legislation is up for a committee vote next month, “when Congress will begin to reverse the Worst Governor in America’s crime and sanctuary state crisis.”
“I have and always will fight to put law-abiding New Yorkers first over Kathy Hochul’s cadre of criminals,” she concluded. “She and her feckless policies have got to go. New Yorkers’ lives are on the line.”
The New York Republican is the favorite to duke it out with Hochul in the 2026 general election. She’ll have to make it through a primary with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman first, but was aided by the endorsement of former gubernatorial rival Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Monday.
Still, political observers said Stefanik’s campaign took a blow with President Donald Trump’s friendly meeting with the congresswoman’s frequent target, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
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“The entire country just watched Donald Trump throw Elise Stefanik under the bus the same way she’s been throwing New Yorkers under the bus for years,” Hochul’s campaign said. “In one breath, Trump nuked her opening argument and told every New Yorker listening that she’s only playing politics. We haven’t seen Stefanik take an L this big since Trump crushed her dreams of joining his administration.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Hochul’s campaign, but did not receive a response.