A Kearny man is one of two from a Queens-based “crew” who stand accused of kidnapping, beating up and stealing $20,000 from an Uber driver in New York City in October 2022, published reports say.
Sam Carrasco, 20, of Kearny and Jeffrey Tavares, 23, of Queens, were both charged in connection to those crimes on Friday, March 17, in Brooklyn Federal Court, the New York Daily News reported.
The News also said the duo were reportedly responsible for numerous armed robberies and carjackings in Queens from October 2022 through this month.
In the aforementioned Oct. 24 2022 incident, The News reports the pair and one other man allegedly approached a Murray Hill, Queens, Uber driver, put an opaque bag over his head, tied his hands together, stole his keys, wallet and iPhone 13 and then one of them demanded money.
The News said with a gun to his head, the victim told suspects he had cash at his home and reportedly gave up his home address. They all then went to the house and stole $20,000 in cash, later releasing the suspect on the eastern end of Long Island — but not before reminding him not to call the police or “we will kill you and your family.”
Carrasco and Tavares were first arrested late in December by the New York City Police Department after they were nabbed driving a stolen Jeep, the News said. Authorities then were able to connect to the suspect to the robberies.
Bail information for Carrasco and Tavares was not immediately available.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.