2 Men Pulled Gun On Kids And Adults In Bergen County Parking Lot: Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Four men have been charged in connection with a Bergen County armed robbery last year in which two men pointed guns at three adults and two kids in a parking lot, prosecutors said Friday.

Kenny M. Vega, 23, of West New York, Julio A. Perez, 24, of North Bergen, Justin L. Acosta, 21, of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Jaden A. Vazquez, 21, of Guttenberg have charged with armed robbery after a nine-month investigation of the June 2024 incident, said Bergen County prosecutors.

Three of the men have been arrested, but Vazquez is still at large, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that on June 13, 2024, just before 8 p.m., Edgewater police responded to an armed robbery at a commercial parking lot on River Road.

Five victims, including two juveniles, had parked in the lot when two masked men with firearms approached them, the victims told police.

Police say the suspects demanded the keys to the victims' vehicle, patted down some of them, and threatened to shoot them if they didn’t comply.

One of the suspects then tried to break the rear passenger side window of the victims' vehicle with the grip of the handgun, prosecutors said.

Then the robbers fled in their getaway vehicle.

"During a lengthy investigation over the course of the next seven months, detectives identified the vehicle used during the commission of the crime, as well as Justin L. Acosta and Julio A. Perez as two of the suspects," prosecutors said.

Acosta was arrested on Feb. 12, prosecutors said.

Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, with help from the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team, searched Perez's home in North Bergen, prosecutors said. He wasn't found there, but later surrendered on Feb. 18, prosecutors said.

Later in the investigation, Vega and Vazquez were identified has having been involved.

All four men have been charged with first-degree armed robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and weapons charges, prosecutors said.

This past Monday, Edgewater police and detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office found Vega outside his home in West New York and arrested him, prosecutors said.

Detectives are still looking for Vazquez. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at (201) 226-5532.

The three men who have been apprehended remain in custody at the Bergen County Jail, prosecutors said.