30°
Bryan Leandro Herrera Maldonado, 24, fought with his captors before being subdued, they said.
Authorities in January arrested three other accused members of the elaborate Queens-based Chilean burglary crew, who they said targeted luxury homes from Long Island’s North Shore to Miami and California.
They were identified as Boneek Alexander Quintero-Baeza, 33, Levy Frank Maury Bruggman, 24, and alleged getaway driver Alexandra Ivonne Pizarro-Blanche, 23.
They'd just returned from a burglary in Saddle River when they were nabbed at a home on Sixth Avenue in College Point, Queens, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told reporters in Mineola.
Authorities recovered jewelry, electronics, handbags and clothing taken during burglaries in upscale communities in both states, Ryder said at the time.
Crew members also had various forms of identification with aliases, he added.
As for Maldonado, “we’re going to hunt him down and bring him into justice,” the commissioner said.
The 5-foot-8-inch Mexican national remained a fugitive until his capture last Friday.
He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail. ICE placed a detainer on Maldonado for extradition purposes. Warrants also were issued out of Nassau County and Greenwich, CT.
Among a host of counts against him in various jurisdictions are several charges of burglary, theft and conspiracy out of Saddle River.
Maldonado and his accomplices are connected to another Chilean group of accused burglars arrested by Nassau County authorities late last year – all of whom fled the country after being released on bail, Ryder said.
The crews “would flip teams,” entering the country on 90-day tourist visas, Ryder said.
“They would come here, be arrested, get out and then go back to Chile,” he said. “We went after them and we went after them hard.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice North Hunterdon and receive free news updates.
