Dominican Man Pleads Guilty To Role In New Jersey Kidnapping

Thursday, September 25, 2025, 11:15 A.M. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

NEWARK, NJ.- A 33-year-old Dominican national, formerly residing in New Jersey, will be facing up to life in federal prison when sentenced early next year, after pleading guilty earlier this month for his role in the 2023 gunpoint kidnapping of two individuals in Paterson, New Jersey. 

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba, on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, Joel Ramon Garcia, 33, of the Dominican Republic, last residing in New Jersey, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini to a Federal Indictment charging him with Kidnapping.

     Following entering his guilty plea, Judge Martini accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for January 20, 2026. At that time, Garcia faces up to life in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According To Court Documents

     According to the charging information unsealed in the indictment, on November 15, 2023, Garcia and an unnamed individual kidnapped two victims at gunpoint in Paterson, New Jersey, and drove the two victims to Massachusetts, where they held them for financial ransom. Shortly after the kidnapping, on November 15, 2023, later that day, Garcia and the unnamed individual contacted the father of one of the victims and threatened that the victim’s fingers would be cut off if he did not comply with their demands and pay the ransom.

     Garcia and the unnamed individual ultimately released the victim on or about November 17, 2023.

     Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Jersey Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, the Paterson Police Department, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, the Clifton Police Department, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Cedar Grove Police Department, which led to the apprehension of Garcia and his guilty plea.