Innocent NJ Man Jailed For Over A Year Sues State, Local Officials

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A Passaic County man is suing the New Jersey Attorney General and the county prosecutors after he was jailed for a crime he was found not to have committed.

Warlyn Rosario, 33, of Paterson, filed a federal lawsuit this month claiming that law enforcement fabricated evidence that led to his unlawful arrest and over a year-long incarceration, and withheld evidence that would’ve exonerated him.

In December 2023, a carjacking was reported in Paterson. Two suspects were accused of robbing victims at gunpoint and driving off in a Mercedes-Benz and a Honda Accord.

No firearm was ever found, and no physical or forensic evidence tied Rosario to the crime, the suit says. However, he was arrested days later after police identified him “based largely on clothing, hairstyle, and law enforcement familiarity rather than reliable eyewitness identification,” the suit continues.

Surveillance footage gathered by investigators shows the actual suspects entering a nearby cafe, and separate footage shows Rosario at his home at that exact same time. However, the footage that would exonerate Rosario was not disclosed until January 2025, more than a year after he was arrested, the suit says.

Rosario’s charges weren’t dropped until March 2025 — 15 months after his arrest, and just over three months since the exoneration footage was presented.

During his time in jail, Rosario was attacked, beaten up, and thrown in a cell for 23 hours a day, the suit says. Additionally, he was forced to shut down his small business because he was incarcerated.

“(Rosario) was arrested and detained based on unreliable identification procedures, speculative interpretations of surveillance footage, and suppressed exculpatory evidence,” the suit reads. “(Rosario) remained incarcerated for more than one year under harsh conditions, separated from his family, employment, and community.”

Rosario’s suit makes several claims, including false imprisonment, a lack of due process, prolonged pre-trial detention, and fabrication of evidence, to name a few.

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Paterson Police Department, and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (which runs Paterson PD) are mentioned in the suit.

Rosario is seeking punitive and compensatory damages as well as attorney fees.