New Haven Man, 19, Admits Role In 5 Carjackings: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — A 19-year-old New Haven resident has pleaded guilty to charges in connection with five carjackings, including two carjackings of Uber drivers in Wallingford, according to officials.

Tihaja Ortiz-Tucker, also known as “TJ,” pleaded guilty Tuesday in New Haven federal court to carjacking and conspiracy offenses, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

Authorities said that between March and July 2022, Ortiz-Tucker and others posed as interested buyers of motor vehicles advertised by Connecticut residents on Facebook Marketplace.

“On three occasions, Ortiz-Tucker and his co-conspirators arranged to meet in person with the victim-sellers for the purported purpose of test driving and purchasing the motor vehicles,” officials wrote in a news release. “At the conclusion of the purported test drives, Ortiz-Tucker and his co-conspirators stole, at gunpoint, the vehicles, as well as certificates of title, bills of sale, and other ownership documents. On at least two occasions, Ortiz-Tucker posed as the legitimate owner of stolen motor vehicles, advertised them for sale on the OfferUp online platform, and sold them to unwitting purchasers.”

Ortiz-Tucker also participated in two carjackings of Uber drivers in Wallingford in May 2022, according to officials.

“In both instances, an Uber driver picked up the carjacker in New Haven and drove to Wallingford where the cars were taken from the Uber drivers at gunpoint,” officials wrote in the news release. “Both cars were later recovered in the same area of Hamden.”

Ortiz-Tucker was arrested on July 22, 2022. He pleaded guilty to three counts of taking a motor vehicle from a person by force, violence, and intimidation (“carjacking”), an offense that carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison on each count, and one count of conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, according to officials.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22.

Ortiz-Tucker, who had been released on bond and residing with family members in California, was remanded to custody at the conclusion of the sentencing proceeding, officials said.

Ruben Montano, 20, of New Haven, pleaded guilty on May 2 to one count of carjacking and admitted that he participated in one of these carjackings in July 2022, and the subsequent sale of the vehicle, according to officials. Montano, who is detained in state custody on unrelated charges, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31.