Reputed gang member found in closet charged with N.J. kidnapping, police say

By Noah Cohen
on February 18, 2016 at 5:39 PM, updated February 19, 2016 at 8:47 AM

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Juan Visente Chiliseo-Vega, 19 (Photo: Bergen County Sheriff's Office)

RIDGEWOOD - A fourth man accused in the carjacking, kidnapping and stabbing of a taxi driver was returned to Bergen County to face charges Wednesday, authorities said.

SWAT team officers found Juan Visente Chiliseo-Vega, 19, of Suffern, New York, hiding in a closet at his home late last Thursday night, according to police.

In a statement, Suffern police described Vega as a "dangerous criminal" and said he was a suspected member of the 18th Street Gang.

Vega and three other men hailed a cab in Paterson early Dec. 26 and asked for a ride to Waldwick, authorities said previously said.

The crew told the driver to pull over in Ridgewood, where they forced the man into the back seat and took his money, cell phone and watch, according to Suffern police. At least one assailant pulled a gun and threatened to kill the taxi driver.

The violent ordeal continued when the crew drove the cabbie to the New York State Thruway before they stabbed him in the neck and pistol-whipped the man, according to police. They dumped the wounded man along the highway in the Tuxedo, New York-area.

Authorities described the driver's injuries as serious, but not life-threatening.

A task force of FBI agents, Ridgewood police and other investigators, arrested three other men in the robbery and attack.

Vega was jailed on charges, including kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, according to Bergen County Sheriff's Office records. The El Salvadoran national was also ordered held on a federal immigration detainer.

Records show bail was set at $400,000, with no 10 percent option.

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