Westport police made a fourth and final arrest Wednesday in connection to a violent and brazen carjacking, marking the end of their investigation. Vincys Baez, 20, of Waterbury, was arraigned at Stamford Superior Court where Judge Vikki Cooper called him a "public safety risk" and raised his bond to $750,000.
Baez was charged with home invasion, first-degree burglary, robbery by carjacking, third-degree assault, reckless endangerment, first-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, robbery and conspiracy to commit with bond initially set at $500,000.
The incident happened inside a local man's own garage in the middle of the day on Sept. 17. Police said the victim and his blue Aston Martin convertible were targeted by the suspects.
"Particular to Mr. Baez, it is alleged that he, along with those codefendants, followed the victim home from a restaurant in Westport where they subsequently attacked him in his garage and stole his car," said Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Moran during the court hearing.
Moran said location data from Baez's cellphone put him outside the restaurant, the victim's home and the house in Berlin where police recovered the Aston Martin and other stolen luxury cars.
Security camera footage of the carjacking shows two masked suspects walk into the garage while the garage door is still up. Baez is allegedly the one in the solid black sweatshirt who's seen approaching the victim first. Baez stuck his hand in his pocket, implied he had a gun, and threatened to use it on the victim, Baez's arrest warrant said.
The warrant also said police recovered a picture of Baez driving the Aston Martin from one of the co-defendant's phones. Giovanni Lopez, 16, of Waterbury, is being charged as an adult and was taken into custody two days after the carjacking. Lopez is currently out on $250,000 bond with strict conditions that he can't leave the house except for school, legal visits, medical appointments, and religious services.
Police believe Lopez is the suspect in the video wearing the black sweatshirt with white writing who's seen choking and punching the victim. They said they found the clothing he was in on the footage at Lopez's home.
According to Baez's arrest warrant, police found pictures on Lopez's phone of all the suspects posing in front of the stolen car. The warrant said police discovered texts from the day after the carjacking where Lopez admitted that he and Baez were responsible. It also said police located a chat thread between Baez and Lopez where they shared pictures of weapons and high-end vehicles.
At Baez's arraignment, the prosecution said Baez is part of a Waterbury gang and was arrested last week by police there on several weapons and drug charges including use of a machine gun, illegal transfer of a pistol, stealing a firearm, and several counts of violation of a large capacity magazine. Court records show Baez also has other pending gun and drug charges.
"The state does have serious concerns for the safety of the public, and I'll note he does have some New York charges as well so we're asking bond be increased to $750,000," Moran told the judge.
The public defender's office said Baez is being held on $300,000 bond for the recent Waterbury arrest and can't post that so any amount in this case would be "purely academic." The judge disagreed. She granted the prosecution's request and ruled bond can only be posted at the courthouse after a hearing to set non-financial conditions of release. The judge also ordered Baez have no contact with the codefendants.
Besides Baez, that includes Garrett Gibbs, 22, of Waterbury, who was arraigned in Cooper's courtroom last week. Gibbs is accused of being the getaway driver. He allegedly drove Baez and Lopez to the Westport home in a vehicle they stole the day before in Westport. Gibbs is being held on $750,000 as well. Moran said Wednesday that the prosecution has learned of connections in New York who are working to bond Gibbs out. Gibbs also has several pending charges out of Waterbury and is on Connecticut's Deadly Weapon Registry.