Surveillance video, cellphone data lead to charges against five men in Garfield killing

Kyle Morel, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·2 min read
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Video cameras near a Bergen County restaurant helped authorities bring murder charges against five men, including one still at large, in the death of a Hawthorne man last month.

Surveillance footage shows the men "punching, kicking, and stabbing" Richard Franceschi, 31, outside JoJo's Bar & Grill on Monroe Street in Garfield early on the morning of Feb. 4, said the affidavits of probable cause for each suspect obtained by NorthJersey.com on Wednesday afternoon. One of the of suspects, identified by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office as Jayson Rivera, 23, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, reportedly is seen holding a handgun during the assault.

Four of the men — Rivera; Bryant Sanchez, 26, of Paterson; Erony Sanchez, 27, of Clifton; and Dante Moore, 33, of Passaic — have been arrested in connection with Franceschi's death. The fifth, Ricky "Angel" Vargas, 35, of East Stroudsburg, has not been detained and is considered armed and dangerous, the Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Ricky "Angel" Vargas
Ricky "Angel" Vargas

Law enforcement personnel used eyewitness accounts and analyzed the suspects' social media and cellphone activity, which "ultimately placed each individual at the scene and memorialized their movements thereafter," the affidavit said. Authorities determined that none of the men knew Franceschi before the attack.

A GoFundMe page, since disabled, created in the wake of Franceschi's death remembered the victim as a kindhearted man who loved his family, music and dance, and "above all was always loyal and true to himself."

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"Known by many, loved by most if not all, Richard will continue to live on through his sisters, family, and close friends," the page said.

All five suspects were charged with first-degree murder along with causing bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crime. Additional charges include aggravated assault for Bryant Sanchez, theft for Moore, unlawful firearm possession for Rivera and unlawful weapon possession for Vargas.

Anyone with information on Vargas' whereabouts is asked to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 201-226-5532.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Garfield NJ murder: Video, phone data lead to charges against 5 men