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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a Ñetas gang member from Perth
Amboy pleaded guilty today to kidnapping
a young man, beating him and taking him
to a motel in Sayreville, where he was held
at gunpoint. He is the second gang member
to plead guilty in connection with the December
2009 crime.
According
to Director Taylor, Oswaldo Santillan Jr.,
20, of Perth Amboy, pleaded guilty to first-degree
kidnapping before Superior Court Judge Mathias
E. Rodriguez in Middlesex County. Santillan
faces a state prison sentence of up to 30
years. He must serve 85 percent of the sentence
imposed without parole under the No Early
Release Act. Judge Rodriguez scheduled sentencing
for Oct. 3.
The
Division of Criminal Justice obtained a
state grand jury indictment on April 20,
2010 charging Santillan, Hector Montoya-Garay,
21, and David Santana, 21. All three men
are alleged Ñetas gang members who
reside in Perth Amboy. The indictment stems
from an ongoing joint investigation by the
Division of Criminal Justice and the Perth
Amboy Police Department, conducted with
the assistance of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's
Office, Carteret Police Department and U.S.
Marshals Service. Montoya-Garay pleaded
guilty on March 18, 2011 to third-degree
criminal restraint. He faces up to five
years in prison. Santana faces pending charges
of kidnapping, conspiracy, possession of
a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful
possession of a weapon, aggravated assault
and terroristic threats. The indictment
is merely an accusation and he is presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
The
investigation revealed that the victim had
gotten into trouble with local members of
the Ñetas. In pleading guilty, Santillan
admitted that he and Santana ambushed the
18-year-old victim at a house in Perth Amboy
on Dec. 5, 2009, forcing him into a van
driven by Montoya-Garay. Santillan admitted
that he and Santana beat the victim inside
the van and outside at a remote location.
The victim suffered a broken nose, black
eyes, cuts and other injuries. Santillan
said the defendants then took the victim
to a motel in Sayreville, where they held
him at gunpoint and threatened to kill him.
The victim escaped after Santillan and Santana
departed, leaving Montoya-Garay to guard
him. The next day, Montoya-Garay falsely
reported the van stolen to the Perth Amboy
Police Department.
A
woman, Isis Rivera, 26, of Perth Amboy,
was charged by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s
Office in connection with this case. She
was charged with hindering apprehension
for harboring Santillan in her residence
after he was charged with the kidnapping
and was being sought as a fugitive. She
was admitted by the court into the Pre-Trial
Intervention Program on Sept. 29, 2010.
Deputy
Attorney General J. Michael Wicke took the
guilty plea. The investigation was conducted
and coordinated for the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
by Deputy Attorney General Wicke, Sgt. Keith
Stopko, Lt. Richard Nocella and Detectives
Tim Savage, Edward Augustyn, Scott Caponi,
Cortney Lawrence and Richard Aitken; and
for the Perth Amboy Police Department by
Lt. Phil Terranova, Sgt. Joseph Breyta and
Detectives Carl Graham, Mabner Terron, Carlos
Rodriguez, Mohamed Mohamed, Jessica DeJesus,
R.B Harris, Chris Joy and Sandra Rivera.
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