Four 18th Street Gang Members Charged in Bar Robbery, Taxi Driver Kidnapping

Four 18th Street gang members face federal charges in a violent Christmas Day crime spree that began with a gunpoint robbery of a Hawthorne, New Jersey, bar and ended with a bleeding taxi driver left for dead on the side of the New York State Thruway. Wilbur Jonathan Barahona, 20, of Ridgewood, New Jersey; Guillermo Carillo-Iraheta, 19, of Suffern, New York; Juan Chiliseo-Vega, 19, of Suffern; and Jostin Reyes, 21, of Waldwick, New Jersey, were arrested and charged in connection with the armed robbery and a brutal carjacking that followed.

The victims were targeted hours apart on December 25, 2016. According to the federal complaint, Barahona, Guillermo Carillo-Iraheta, Chiliseo-Vega, Reyes, Balmore Carillo-Iraheta, 19, of Suffern, and Oscar Avalos-Cortez, 22, of New City, New York, stormed a Hawthorne bar at gunpoint and stole cash while Avalos-Cortez waited in the getaway vehicle. The robbery was swift, violent, and executed with military precision—hallmarks of organized gang activity, authorities say.

Later that night, the same group splintered. Barahona, Guillermo Carillo-Iraheta, Chiliseo-Vega, and Reyes hijacked a taxi in northern New Jersey. They forced the driver to an isolated stretch of road in Woodbury, New York, where they beat him with a beer bottle, slashed his throat with a knife, and left him bleeding on the cold shoulder of the Thruway. The driver survived the attack, but the scars—physical and mental—may never heal.

All four suspects in the carjacking—Barahona, Guillermo Carillo-Iraheta, Chiliseo-Vega, and Reyes—were charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, carjacking, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, and kidnapping. Balmore Carillo-Iraheta and Oscar Avalos-Cortez are also charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. The kidnapping charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; carjacking, up to 25 years; conspiracy, up to 20 years; and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, a mandatory seven-year sentence.

The arrests came after a joint investigation led by the FBI’s Newark field office, with assistance from the Ridgewood and Hawthorne Police Departments. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman praised the swift coordination between federal and local agencies, calling the crimes “brazen and inhuman.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen D. Stringer is prosecuting the case in Newark federal court. All six defendants appeared before federal magistrates, with five ordered detained. Avalos-Cortez was released on a $150,000 unsecured bond.

The charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But for residents of Bergen County and Rockland County, the case is a stark reminder: the 18th Street gang isn’t just dealing drugs or tagging walls—they’re executing violent, coordinated attacks on ordinary people in broad daylight. The federal hammer is coming down, but the streets are still watching.

RELATED: 18th Street Gang Members Convicted of Murder, Racketeering

RELATED: Gang Members convicted of Murder, Racketeering in Missouri