There are a couple of lessons here.
1. If you’re doing something you’d rather the police not know about, don’t open yourself up to any more scrutiny than necessary. Even something as simple as driving in a carpool lane when your passengers aren’t easy to see from the outside can be enough to undo your cunning plan.
2. No matter what you’ve done to or said to them, never assume you can trust your kidnapping victims to keep their mouths shut.
Port Authority cops pulled over Luis Moreno Jr. because he appeared to be alone in his silver 2002 Toyota Sequoia as he entered an HOV lane approaching the George Washington Bridge on I-95 in Fort Lee, N.J., at 8:05 a.m. Friday, officials said.
“I have two passengers in the back,” Moreno protested, rolling down his rear driver’s-side window to show the cop.
The officer saw two passengers seated in the third row of the SUV and let Moreno continue driving. But as he rolled away, one passenger tried to jump out the back window, screaming for help, cops said.
When the cop ordered Moreno to stop again, the 26-year-old whizzed past her.
He quickly became stuck in rush-hour traffic and was stopped by more Port Authority cops, officials said.
Seems I forgot one.
3. Don’t try to drive off on the cops during rush-hour in a large city, ya jackass.
Through an interview with one of his passengers, police determined that the journey had actually started out in Texas, where Moreno had agreed to drive him to Maryland in exchange for cash. Once they got there, however, Moreno pulled the old you’re paying me more than you thought you were or you’re not getting out of this car trick, and when the man couldn’t pay, his cell phone was taken, the doors were locked and they kept on driving. It’s worth noting here that the door locks had apparently been modified in such a way that they could only be controlled by the driver, making an escape difficult.
The second passenger said he was also being unwillingly driven around, but the story makes it sound as if the 2 passengers may not have found themselves in the same situation for the same reason.
Moreno, who lives in New Jersey so should have known the rush-hour thing, was found to be driving with a suspended license and was charged with kidnapping, criminal restraint and receiving stolen property (the cell phone, I assume). And he’s probably in even more trouble than that, since he’s also wanted back in Texas for more than one parole violation.
At last word he was being held in New Jersey after being unable to make his $1 million bail. If only those guys had paid for their trips…
