The nearly two-year hunt for the last suspect in a violent Maywood jewelry store robbery has ended in New York City, where authorities say a 26-year-old Brooklyn man is now in custody and waiting to be brought back to New Jersey.
Prosecutors have identified the final alleged fugitive as Cristian Ricardo Vera Castillo of Brooklyn. He is being held in a New York detention facility pending extradition to Bergen County.
According to Daily Voice, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Vera Castillo was located and arrested in New York City on Feb. 24. Musella called the arrest the culmination of an investigation that has stretched across 22 months and multiple states.
How investigators say the robbery unfolded
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says the armed robbery went down on April 23, 2024, at Diamond Fantasy on West Pleasant Avenue in Maywood. Detectives report that two masked men walked into the store, pulled out guns and threatened an employee and a customer.
Investigators say the robbers fled but left behind duct tape and zip ties, and it did not take long for detectives to conclude that more people were involved. According to the prosecutor’s office, several additional suspects are accused of helping plan and carry out the heist, including using two moped-style motorcycles and a getaway vehicle. The investigation pulled in multiple law enforcement partners across several states.
Arrests spanned multiple states
Authorities charged four suspects in 2024 and kept adding defendants as the probe widened, with arrests and extradition efforts stretching to Florida and Michigan. Reporting from Shore News Network notes that one defendant was found in Miami with a watch reportedly worth nearly $1 million and that weapons were recovered during separate arrests. Another suspect was tracked down in Detroit and extradited to Bergen County in November.
Local and federal agencies, including the NYPD, Miami Police Department and Homeland Security, worked with Bergen County investigators throughout the lengthy case.
Charges and what comes next
According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Vera Castillo faces charges that include first-degree armed robbery, conspiracy and several weapons offenses.
Prosecutor Musella has stressed that all charges are accusations at this stage and that every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. As Daily Voice reports, Vera Castillo remains in New York pending extradition to Bergen County.
Investigators say the probe is still active and are asking anyone with information about the robbery or related activity to contact authorities.
