A 27-year-old Bronx woman has been indicted for allegedly sending a series of false 911 text messages claiming a man was carrying a bomb aboard a Metro-North train, a hoax that forced police and K-9 units to sweep the New Haven-bound train and evacuate passengers and crew in Westchester County. Albertyna Mendoza pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released after her arraignment.
According to News 12 New York, Mendoza sent the texts in May 2025 while the train traveled through Westchester County toward New Haven. The train stopped at the Rye station, where passengers and crew were evacuated and transferred to a second train to continue their trip while officers investigated. Police and K-9 units swept the train but found no evidence of a bomb, and officials said video surveillance showed no person matching the description in Mendoza's messages.
The false texts were sent at roughly 4:30 p.m. on May 3, 2025, during a peak weekend afternoon on the New Haven Line, according to the Yonkers Times. The Rye station is a key stop on that line, which runs alongside Interstate 95 through Westchester County to link New York City commuters with Fairfield County, Connecticut, as Hoodline has previously reported.
A Three-Month Digital Manhunt
Mendoza was not arrested until July 30, 2025, following a nearly three-month investigation by MTA Police, according to Daily Voice. She was formally arraigned on September 3, 2026, before Westchester County Court Judge George Fufidio, with a return court date set for September 17.
MTA Police Chief Thomas J. Taffe said detectives worked for months alongside Westchester prosecutors, analyzing surveillance footage and digital records to identify the person responsible for disrupting thousands of commutes, per the Yonkers Times report. Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace, a former county trial judge who took office as the county's chief prosecutor in January 2025, said her office indicted Mendoza for falsely reporting a bomb threat aboard the train and stressed that extensive law enforcement resources were expended tracking down the source of the texts.
Why Mendoza Wasn't Held on Bail
Judge Fufidio released Mendoza on her own recognizance because falsely reporting an incident in the second degree, under New York Penal Law § 240.55, is a non-violent Class E felony that is not bail-eligible under the state's bail reform statutes, the Yonkers Times noted. A conviction on that charge carries a potential sentence of up to four years in state prison, according to FindLaw.
That charge is notably less severe than the state's heightened statute for placing a false bomb specifically in a mass transportation facility, Penal Law § 240.63, which is a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison, per the NY State Senate. Prosecutors have not publicly stated why Mendoza allegedly sent the texts, and it remains unclear whether restitution for the emergency response will be pursued at trial.
The Cost of a Hoax
Multi-agency transit bomb sweeps involving specialized K-9 units and officer details require substantial expenditures that are typically absorbed by public safety budgets when the threats turn out to be hoaxes, according to research from Tilem & Associates. The case comes as New York Division of Criminal Justice Services data cited by Governor Kathy Hochul in September 2026 shows overall violent crime and property offenses across the state have seen notable year-over-year declines, Daily Voice reported separately.
Mendoza is expected back in court later this month as the case proceeds.
