Prosecutors in New Jersey say they've made additional arrests in the murder of a 24-year-old New Jersey man found dead in the trunk of his own car on a New York City street after he was kidnapped.
Robert R. Martinez, 26, of Worcester, Massachusetts, has been arrested on felony murder and other charges in the killing of Jordan Johnson of Fort Lee, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Thursday.
Courtney A. Evelyn, 30; Dyrol Evelyn, 25; and Diana Escotto, 24, all of Manhattan, were also each charged with hindering apprehension.
Prosecutors previously announced the felony murder, robbery and burglary charges against 25-year-old Andre Jamal Thompson, who was arrested in a Maryland hotel room earlier this month and extradited to New Jersey.
Johnson was found inside the trunk of his car parked on a Bronx street on Jan. 15, dead of strangulation, according to authorities. Thompson was arrested in Maryland on Feb. 4, and on the same day, Martinez was located in Worcester and interviewed there.
Since Thompson's arrest, prosecutors say additional investigation and interviews have made it apparent that Martinez lied to authorities.
Prosecutors now say they believe both Martinez and Thompson lured Johnson to an apartment Thompson sometimes used in Fort Lee. There, they assaulted Johnson, stole his phone, keys and car, and ultimately killed him, prosecutors said.
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The pair then used Johnson's phone to send text messages to his girlfriend and lure her out of the Fort Lee apartment she shared with Johnson. After she left, they ransacked the apartment and took jewelry, cash and other items.
Martinez and Thompson fled the state within hours.
Johnson's sister, Jacqueline Taylor, previously said that his girlfriend, Megan Faulkner, something was off about the messages she got from Johnson's phone, but she left to go meet him in Harlem anyway. When he didn't meet her there, she reported him missing.
Martinez was located and arrested in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and charged Thursday with felony murder, robbery and burglary. Bail was set at $2 million, and he remains in the Worcester County House of Corrections in Massachusetts, where he's awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
Siblings Courtney Evelyn and Dyrol Evelyn, and Diana Escotto, were arrested in Manhattan Thursday, and are in custody of NYPD, prosecutors said.
Attorney information for the suspects was not immediately available.
