A Bronx woman accused of calling in a fake bomb threat on a Metro-North train has pleaded not guilty following her indictment.
Albertyna Mendoza, 27, was arraigned Thursday, Sept. 3, in Westchester County Court on a felony charge of falsely reporting an incident.
Mendoza was on a northbound New Haven line train on the afternoon of May 3, 2025, when she allegedly sent a series of texts to 911 Emergency Operations reporting that there was a man holding a bomb on the train.
The train was stopped at the Rye Metro-North station, where MTA police evacuated the passengers and crew. Police and K-9s swept the train with no threat observed. Review of video surveillance also confirmed that there was no one matching the description of the man Mendoza gave
in her text messages.
Following an investigation by MTA police and the Westchester District Attorney's Office Mendoza was arrested on July 30, 2025.
"The defendant’s alleged reckless actions caused great fear and alarm and created a significant inconvenience for hundreds of Metro-North commuters who were forced to evacuate the train," Westchester DA Susan Cacace said in a statement.
A lawyer for Mendoza could not be reached. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted. The charge is not bail-eligible so Westchester Judge George Fufidio released her until the next court appearance Sept. 17.
Between the bomb scare and her arrest in Westchester, Mendoza was arrested in June 2025 on felony assault charges and misdemeanor weapon charges stemming from a domestic violence incident in the north Bronx. That case is still pending in Bronx criminal court.
Two months ago she was arrested on misdemeanor charges of aggravated harassment and making a threat of mass harm over an April incident in Harlem, according to online state court records. Details of that and the Bronx case were not immediately available.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Woman indicted in bomb threat that forced evacuation of Metro-North train
