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Seven people, including six men and a juvenile, have been charged following a multistate investigation into a June armed home invasion in Lyndhurst, where prosecutors said the suspects stalked victims from their business, pulled guns on them in their garage and restrained a child.
The charges stem from a June 6 incident on Milton Avenue. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said two victims arrived home at about 9:30 p.m. and pulled into their garage when they were confronted by multiple armed people dressed in dark clothing.
The suspects held the victims at gunpoint and stole cash, jewelry, a cellphone, a smartwatch and designer handbags, prosecutors said.
During the robbery, prosecutors said one suspect forcefully restrained an unrelated juvenile who was nearby, grabbing the child from behind and covering the child’s mouth to prevent them from raising an alarm.
Investigators with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Lyndhurst Police Department reviewed surveillance footage that showed six suspects arriving in two vehicles minutes before the victims returned home. Detectives determined the group had conducted surveillance on the victims and followed them home from their business in the days leading up to the robbery.
A months-long, multiagency investigation led to the identification and charging of seven people in several states:
- Elvis Sanchez-Paez, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested Sept. 5 in Wharton by New Jersey State Police. He is being held at the Bergen County Jail.
- Freddy R. Marin Pacheco, 37, of the Bronx, New York, was arrested Sept. 11 in Mount Vernon, New York, and is awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
- Carlos A. Aular Montoya, 25, of Buffalo, New York, was arrested Sept. 16 in the Bronx by the NYPD and ATF. He is awaiting extradition.
- Freyberth A. Acosta Dominguez, 27, of Indianapolis, is incarcerated in Indiana on an unrelated matter, has been served with charges and is awaiting extradition.
- Luis Fernando Suarez Vasquez, 18, of Chicago, is incarcerated in New York on an unrelated matter, has been served with charges and is awaiting extradition.
- A 16-year-old juvenile from Chicago is incarcerated in Indiana on an unrelated matter, has been served with juvenile delinquency charges and is awaiting extradition.
- Ermenso J. Duran Maldonado, 31, of Newark, was charged in absentia after a SWAT team executed a warrant at his home Sept. 16. He remains a fugitive.
All six adult defendants face charges including first-degree armed robbery, first-degree home invasion burglary, weapons offenses, aggravated assault and first-degree use of a juvenile to commit a criminal offense.
Sanchez-Paez also faces a third-degree criminal restraint charge.