Feds File Charges Against 6 Men Suspected In Danbury Kidnap Attempt

DANBURY, CT — Federal charges have been filed against the six Floridians suspected of last month's violent carjacking and attempted kidnapping in the City.

The U.S. States Attorney for the District of Connecticut and Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour announced Thursday that six Floridians have been charged in last month's thwarted attempt to snatch a couple off a Danbury street.

Angel Borrero, aka “Chi Chi,” 23; Josue Alberto Romero, aka “Sway,” 26; Michael Rivas, 18; and Ricardo Estrada, aka “Ricky,” 21, are from Miami. Reynaldo Diaz, aka “Rey,” 20, hails from Belle Clade, FL, and Anthony Pena, aka “Tony,” 23, is from Miami Gardens.

Danbury Police received multiple 911 calls in the late afternoon of Aug. 25 from witnesses who saw several men assaulting another man 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, according to police. Four men dressed in black, later identified as Borrero, Romero, Pena, and Diaz, exited the van and fled on foot.

Inside the vehicle, officers found a man and woman bound with duct tape. The man had suffered "significant injuries" to his face and arm, according to police. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The victims told police that the Lamborghini Urus they were operating was rear-ended by a Honda Civic on Damia Drive in Danbury, where the van cut them off. The victims were then forcibly removed from their vehicle, dragged into the van, and bound with duct tape, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney. The man was punched in the face and hit with a baseball bat when he tried to resist. The victims told police their captors repeatedly said 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. Three officers suffered non-life threatening injuries during the search and apprehensions, police said.

The victims' Lamborghini was found abandoned in the woods off the roadway on East King Street. According to federal officials, Borrero organized, paid for, and booked flights for the men to travel from Florida to commit the crime.

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. All six have been detained since they were arrested on Aug. 25.