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At least two victims had weapons pointed at them as the bandits forced their way in and took $12,500 in cash, $3,000 worth of jewelry, a wallet with multiple credit and debit cards and cellphone around 12:30 a.m. June 28, investigators said.
Bergen County prosecutor's detectives who worked the case found a lot to go on. They and their Saddle Brook colleagues collected surveillance video, cellphone records with tower locations, business records, police reports and New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles records.
But they didn’t stop there.
The investigators also tapped social media accounts and information provided by an automated license plate reader that helped identify a getaway vehicle, according to a complaint on file in Superior Court in Hackensack.
BCPO detectives executed a batch of search warrants on Tuesday, Oct. 18, leading to the arrests, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Unemployed ex-cons Jahad Foxworth, 24, of Paterson, and JanCarlos Rodriguez, 21, of Elmwood Park, were charged with armed robbery, armed burglary, conspiracy and aggravated assault -- as well as with being convicted felons in possession of firearms, the prosecutor said.
Rodriguez also was charged with having cocaine, heroin and pot for sale, as well as money laundering and fraudulent use of a credit card, he said. He also had a large-capacity magazine, Musella said.
Tyra Jones, a 23-year-old teacher’s aide from Paterson, was charged with armed robbery, conspiracy, armed burglary, aggravated assault, armed burglary and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Jamere Dixon, 21, of Garfield, and Lanasia Smith, 22, of Paterson – both of whom are unemployed – were charged with armed robbery, conspiracy and drug and weapons offenses.
All remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail while awaiting first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Also charged were an Elmwood Park couple, Virgilio Rodriguez, a 44-year-old electrician, and Veronica Rivera, a 46-year-old bus driver, for possession of a large-capacity magazine. Both were released pending court action.
Saddle Brook Police Capt. John Zotollo, the officer in charge of the department, thanked the prosecutor's office, as well as Garfield and Elmwood Park police and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, for their "assistance and resources."
Although the initial responses by patrol officers and follow-up by detectives were key, the successful outcome was "the result of agencies working together," Zotollo said.
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