Authorities say victim was accomplice to armed robbery

It was announced that two men who escaped with a luxury wristwatch and cell phone in Bergen County, one of whom was believed to be the victim, were charged with armed robbery and related crimes.

Gliderman D. Cienfuego Castro, 37, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Eduardo L. Villegas Valera, 30, of Elmhurst, New York, were indicted on two counts of first-degree armed robbery and conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery. , unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and two counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault.

Englewood Cliffs police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a commercial property on Sylvan Avenue around 3:55 p.m. on March 11 and found three victims being held at gunpoint by an armed suspect who had already fled the scene, authorities said.

Authorities said the initial investigation revealed that a single suspect approached the victims with a gun and forced them into an open warehouse at the business.

Authorities said the suspect told the victims to lie down, then took their cellphones and one of the victims’ luxury wristwatch, then locked the victims in the storage room and fled the scene in a waiting getaway vehicle.

But authorities later determined that one of the alleged victims was actually an accomplice, according to officials.

Authorities said Villegas Valera, who was initially among the alleged victims, was identified as a hired accomplice who transported items belonging to the victims and tipped off the suspect to the location of the victim’s luxury watch.

Authorities said Valera portrayed himself as the victim when the robbery occurred.

No additional details about the investigation were released by authorities Wednesday.

On May 29, authorities located and arrested Cienfuego Castro, who was currently incarcerated at the U.S. Immigration Center in Farmville, Virginia, on an unrelated matter, authorities said. He was extradited to New Jersey and is currently being held in the Bergen County Jail.

According to authorities, Villegas Valera was arrested in New York on September 17 and extradited to New Jersey, where he is being held in the Bergen County Jail.

Lawyers for the men could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.