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Gliderman D. Cienfuego Castro
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Eduardo L. Villegas
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Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrests and indictments of 37-year-old GLIDERMAN D. CIENFUEGO CASTRO of Alexandria, Virginia and 30-year-old EDUARDO L. VILLEGAS VALERA of Elmhurst, New York on charges stemming from an armed robbery. The arrests and indictments are the result of a months-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Englewood Cliffs Police Department under the direction of Chief William Henkelman.
On Monday, March 11, 2024, at approximately 3:55 p.m., the Englewood Cliffs Police Department responded to a reported armed robbery at a commercial property on Sylvan Avenue in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Upon arrival, responding officers were informed that three victims were held at gunpoint, and the armed suspect had already fled the scene. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad was notified, responded, and initiated a joint investigation with the Englewood Cliffs Police Department.
During the initial stages of the investigation, law enforcement was informed that three victims were encountered by one male suspect brandishing a handgun. The suspect forced the victims into an open storage room located within the commercial property, instructed them to lie down, took all three of their cell phones, and removed one victim’s luxury wristwatch. The gunman then exited the storage room, closed and locked the door behind him, and fled the scene in a waiting getaway vehicle.
As the investigation progressed, detectives determined that there were only two actual victims, and that the third purported victim, EDUARDO L. VILLEGAS VALERA, was really an accomplice who assisted the gunman in carrying out the robbery. Specifically, detectives determined that VILLEGAS VALERA was hired as a laborer to move items belonging to one of the legitimate victims. While at the property in Englewood Cliffs, VILLEGAS VALERA alerted CIENFUEGO CASTRO, and/or an unidentified co-conspirator, to the location and the existence of one victim’s luxury watch. Subsequently, CIENFUEGO CASTRO arrived at the property in Englewood Cliffs and committed the armed robbery, allowing VILLEGAS VALERA to portray himself as a victim during the confrontation.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement agencies in Virginia, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad located and arrested GLIDERMAN D. CIENFUEGO CASTRO, who was already incarcerated at the Immigration Centers of America in Farmville, Virginia on an unrelated matter. CIENFUEGO CASTRO was subsequently extradited to New Jersey and remanded to the Bergen County Jail where he is currently detained as a result of the charges filed in this matter.
On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad and Englewood Cliffs Police Department, alongside special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officers from the New York City Police Department, located and arrested EDUARDO L. VILLEGAS VALERA in New York City. VILLEGAS VALERA was taken into custody, extradited, and lodged in the Bergen County Jail as a result of the charges filed in this matter.
On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, a seven-count indictment by a Bergen County Grand Jury was unsealed, charging both EDUARDO L. VILLEGAS VALERA and GLIDERMAN D. CIENFUEGO CASTRO with two counts of first-degree armed robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1a(1); second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2a(1)/ N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1a(1); second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1); second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1); and two counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(4).
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutor Musella thanks the Federal Bureau of Investigation (North Jersey Violent Crimes & Safe Streets Task Force), New York City Police Department, Alexandria (VA) Police Department, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with this investigation.
