Ridgewood Man Admits Robbing Bar, Kidnapping Taxi Driver

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — A village man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, carjacking and kidnapping a taxi driver beginning on Christmas Day last year.

Wilbur Jonathon Barahona, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a three-count indictment before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court, said Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Barahona admitted and he and five other men robbed a Hawthorne bar and fled with about $200 in cash, Fitzpatrick said. Afterwards, the six men hailed a taxi in Paterson and carjacked the vehicle from the driver, he said.

The driver was forced into the back of the vehicle and Barahona and the others took over driving it while seriously injuring the driver, Fitzpatrick said.

Barahona and the others hit the driver in the head with a beer bottle, sliced his throat and left him on the side of the road in New York, the attorney said. The driver survived his injuries.

Barahona could be sentenced to life in prison on the kidnapping charge alone. The carjacking charge has a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16.

The other five men involved pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the incident and are awaiting sentencing, Fitzpatrick said.

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