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Although bail originally was set at $500,000 each for Manhattan brothers Hector and Joshue Felix — both of whom have previous burglary convictions — it is now $100,000 following the second reduction in less than two months.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi, Hector Felix, Nico Vega, Josue Felix (STORY / FILE PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
A judge in November dropped the original amount to $200,000.
Last month, their co-defendant saw his bail cut from the same original $500,000 to $50,000 based on his community ties and lack of a previous criminal record.
If they make bail, Hector Felix, 25 (above, left), and his 21-year-old brother (above, right) must remain under house arrest, with electronic monitoring bracelets, at their parents’ Bronx apartment, Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi ordered.
They also would have to surrender their resident alien identifications, she said.
Both are resident legal aliens from the Dominican Republic — which, although it has an extradition treaty with the U.S., isn’t known for vigorously pursuing nationals who flee this country. They also have criminal charges pending out of the Bronx, prosecutors said.
Last month, Dominican citizen Carlos Victoriana was convicted in an assault trial in Hackensack that he didn’t attend. U.S. authorities believe he is hiding out in his homeland.
PHOTO: nj.com
The third defendant in the Paramus burglary case, 25-year-old Nico Vega (above, middle) of the Bronx, is a U.S. citizen who last month had his bail reduced to $50,000 with similar house arrest restrictions.
Killed following the Route 4 burglary was Vega’s cousin, 20-year-old Miguel Reyes.
Two officers who responded to a 4:36 a.m. burglary alarm on Oct. 8 found the rear door of Jennifer Convertibles on Route 4 pried open, as a crew attempted to break through a wall into an adjoining vacant property on their way to a T-Mobile store, law enforcement sources told CLIFFVIEW PILOT soon after the incident.
Using the getaway car as a weapon, Reyes struck a Paramus officer, who landed on the hood and squeezed off some shots from his service weapon.
PIX11 photo
The 2015 Kia slammed into the median on westbound Route 4, after which police arrested Reyes, the Felix brothers and Vega.
Reyes later died at HUMC. The officer sustained “a head injury, as well as injuries to his lower extremities, contusions and bruises,” Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said at the time.
Charges against the trio include armed burglary to the Jennifer Convertibles and vacant adjacent store; attempted armed burglary of the T-Mobile; conspiracy to commit armed burglary; and possession of weapons and burglary tools.
“Mr. Vega was a backseat passenger and had no control over the vehicle,” McFarlane told DeAvila-Silebi before she reduced his client’s bail last month despite burglary and weapons convictions, a parole violation and previous bench warrants on his record.
“Bail is supposed to be set to assure a defendant appears for future court dates, not for any other issue going on, not for punishment,” the defense lawyer said.
Before any of the three can post bail, the judge said, a hearing must be held to determine the source.
Hector Felix, Nico Vega, Josue Felix (STORY / FILE PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
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