Five men charged with murder in stabbing death of 31-year-old man in Garfield

Five men have been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a man at a Bergen County restaurant last month, including one suspect who remains at large, authorities announced Tuesday.

The charges stemmed from an incident at JoJo’s Bar & Grill in Garfield shortly after midnight on Feb. 4, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. The victim, 31-year-old Richard Franceschi, of Hawthorne, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with multiple stab wounds to the chest and pronounced dead less than an hour later.

The four men apprehended are Jayson Rivera, 23, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.; Bryant Sanchez, 26, of Paterson; Erony Sanchez, 27, of Clifton; and Dante Moore, 33, of Passaic. The fifth suspect, Ricky "Angel" Vargas, 35, of East Stroudsburg, has not been located and is considered a fugitive from justice, the prosecutor's office said.

An investigation determined the five men assaulted and stabbed Franceschi numerous times at the restaurant before fleeing the scene. Rivera was also in possession of a firearm during the incident, authorities said.

Moore and Erony Sanchez were arrested in Passaic on Feb. 22, while Bryant Sanchez was arrested in Ogdensburg the same day. Rivera was arrested in Garfield on March 12.

All four suspects were charged with first-degree murder along with causing bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crime, and are being held in the Bergen County Jail. Additional charges include aggravated assault for Bryant Sanchez, theft for Moore and unlawful firearm possession for Rivera.

Vargas is facing the same charges as his fellow suspects as well as weapons possession offenses. He is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 201-226-5532.

Agencies assisting in the investigation include the Garfield Police Department, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, New Jersey State Police SWAT Team, the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Stroud Area Regional Police Department in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Chicago Police Department.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Five charged with murder of man in Garfield. One still at large