Final Suspect Caught: Victim Paralyzed After Falling Off Car In Hillsdale

HILLSDALE, N.J. -- Authorities on Wednesday announced the arrest of the third and final suspect wanted in connection with a drug deal gone bad that left a victim likely paralyzed for life after he was thrown from a car on a dead-end Hillsdale street.

Bryan Ortigoza, Alex Juarez
Photo Credit: *MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BERGEN PROSECUTOR*

Catherine Court, Hillsdale
Photo Credit: *Googlemaps*

Jerry DeMarco

02/21/2018 4:23 p.m.

Alex Juarez, 29, was being held in the Bergen County Jail, joining Bryan Ortigoza, 19, of Passaic, who was arrested last Wednesday.

Both are charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said.

The getaway driver, a 17-year-old girl who also is from Nutley, was previously detained. A delinquency complaint accuses her of what would be the same counts in adult court, Calo said.

The 24-year-old victim had been assaulted by several people and then dragged more than 250 yards from Beechwood Drive to Catherine Court, a cul-de-sac in Hillsdale, before being thrown from the vehicle, the prosecutor said.AirMed One flew him to Hackensack University Medical Center with a broken neck and cerebral hemorrhage after neighbors said a local firefighter found him on the curb. He remained there Wednesday in critical condition, Calo said.

Ortigoza -- a Nutley native who records show was arrested on drug charges out of Essex County last May -- was arrested a day after the assault and the juvenile on Friday, as Daily Voice originally reported.

SEE: Drug Deal Goes Bad: Victim Paralyzed After Falling Off Car In Hillsdale

Juarez was arrested Tuesday, Calo said.

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