6 Florida Men Charged with Conspiracy, Carjacking Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour today announced that the following six Florida residents have been charged by federal criminal complaint with offenses stemming from a violent carjacking and kidnapping in Danbury:

• ANGEL BORRERO, aka "Chi Chi," 23, of Miami, Florida
• JOSUE ALBERTO ROMERO, aka "Sway," 26, of Miami, Florida
• REYNALDO DIAZ, aka "Rey," 20, of Belle Clade, Florida
• ANTHONY PENA, aka "Tony," 23, of Miami Gardens, Florida
• MICHAEL RIVAS, 18, of Miami, Florida
• RICARDO ESTRADA, aka "Ricky," 21, of Miami, Florida

The six defendants have detained since they were arrested on related state charges on August 25, 2024.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in the late afternoon of August 25, 2024, Danbury Police received multiple 911 calls from witnesses who observed several males assaulting another male and forcing him into a white work van. Responding officers encountered the van on Clapboard Ridge Road, near the intersection of East Gate Road, and attempted to stop it. The van accelerated at a high-rate of speed and crashed approximately one mile away on Cowperthwaite Street. Four men dressed in black, later identified as Borrero, Romero, Pena, and Diaz, exited the van and fled on foot. Officers arrived at the location of the disabled van and located a male and female victim, both bound with duct tape, in the back of the van. The male victim had significant injuries to his face and arm. Both victims were transported to the hospital for further evaluation. The victims reported that the Lamborghini Urus they were operating was rear-ended by a Honda Civic on Damia Drive in Danbury, and a white work van cut in front of their vehicle. The victims were then forcibly removed from their vehicle, dragged into the van, and bound with duct tape. When the male victim began to resist, he was punched in the face and hit with a baseball bat. The victims were repeatedly told that they would be killed.

Borrero, Romero, Pena, and Diaz were apprehended in various locations within a quarter-mile radius from where the van crashed. Rivas and Estrada, and the Honda Civic, were located at a short-term rental home in Roxbury. The victims' Lamborghini was found abandoned in the woods off the roadway on East King Street. It is alleged that Borrero organized, paid for, and booked flights for the six defendants to travel from Florida to commit this criminal activity.

The complaint charges the six defendants with conspiracy, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, and with carjacking, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery noted that the investigation is ongoing, and stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force and the Danbury Police Department. The Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police and several local police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Weingarten.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the State's Attorney's Office for the Judicial District of Danbury for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.