A federal grand jury indictment could land a Connecticut man behind bars for more than a decade if he's found guilty in a series of armed carjackings over a five-month window earlier this year.
Tihaja "TJ" Ortiz-Tucker was arrested back in July on a criminal complaint, now superseded by the indictment charging the New Haven man with carjacking, conspiracy and firearm offenses.
As alleged by federal prosecutors and the FBI, the 19-year-old suspect stole three cars at gunpoint between March and July after posing as a buyer on Facebook Marketplace. Along with his "co-conspirators," Ortiz-Tucker test drove the cars before displaying a firearm to demand ownership documents and take off with the vehicle, feds said Monday.
The team of carjackers are also accused of trying to flip the stolen cars by advertising them on a separate online site, OfferUp.
Court documents claim the thieves met at a home in Waterbury on March 13 to meet a potential seller. One member of the group allegedly held a gun to the seller's head before they took off with the victim's BMW sedan and title.
The BMW was advertised for sale the next day and sold for $6,500 cash to a buyer in New Haven on March 16, prosecutors allege. Two other vehicles stolen by the group where also posted online for sale, but it wasn't clear if they were successful in offloading the cars.
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The indictment also accuses Ortiz-Tucker of carjacking two rideshare drivers in May. In both instances, prosecutors said the man ordered Ubers from New Haven to Wallingford, and during those drives displayed a firearm and kicked out the driver.
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Both cars were eventually recovered in Hamden.
Among the charges listed in the 19-year-old's indictment, he faces three counts of carjacking, which prosecutors say each carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison.
Contact information for Ortiz-Tucker's lawyer was not immediately known.
