A Bronx woman faces a felony charge for allegedly texting a fake bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a Metro-North train at the Rye station.
A grand jury indicted Albertyna Mendoza, 27, in connection with the May 2025 incident. She was arraigned Thursday, Sept. 3, before Judge George Fufidio on a charge of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree, a Class E felony, according to the Daily Voice. Mendoza pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. The charge is not bail-eligible under New York state law.
The incident dates to May 3, 2025. Around 4:30 p.m., Mendoza was allegedly riding a New Haven-bound train through Westchester County when she sent a series of text messages to 911 Emergency Operations, the Rye Record reported. The messages falsely claimed a man was carrying a bomb in his hand aboard the train, prosecutors allege.
MTA Police stopped the train at the Rye station and evacuated all passengers and crew. Officers and K-9 units swept the train. No threat was found. No one matching the description in Mendoza's alleged messages was located on the train or observed on video surveillance.
Passengers and crew were transferred to a second train to continue their travel.
"This behavior is completely unacceptable, which is why tremendous efforts were undertaken by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Department and my office to identify, locate, and arrest this defendant," Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said in a statement.
MTA Chief of Police Thomas J. Taffe said the false report disrupted thousands of commutes. Detectives launched an investigation after the report was determined to be unfounded and, with assistance from prosecutors, identified Mendoza as the suspect, Taffe said.
Mendoza was arrested July 30, 2025, following the joint investigation by MTA Police and the District Attorney's Office.
She is due back in court Sept. 17. Anyone with information about suspicious activity on Metro-North can contact MTA Police at 877-690-5116.
