Man charged with Dover knifepoint carjacking

DOVER  An undocumented immigrant who was previously deported to his native Mexico has been charged with carjacking a taxicab driver at knifepoint on Sunday and leading police on a chase before he crashed the stolen Lincoln Town Car, according to authorities and a criminal complaint.

Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor, sitting in Morristown, on Monday upheld the $250,000 bail that originally was set upon the arrest Sunday of Dario Carranza-Covarrubias, 28, of 1st Street, Dover.

The landscaper is charged with carjacking, a first-degree crime; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, resisting arrest, eluding police and obstruction of justice.  During a bail review Monday conducted via a closed-circuit television link between the courtroom and Morris County jail, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Tara Vyas told the judge that the defendant previously was deported in 2008 from Texas to his native Mexico.

Criminal complaints filed in Superior Court, Morristown by Dover Police Officer Timothy Thiel charge that Carranza-Covarrubias used a razor-type knife to take control of a 2003 Lincoln Town car from the driver, who used the vehicle as a taxi in the town.

He allegedly drove the vehicle a short distance before crashing it, ignoring signals from Thiel and Sgt. Andy Milonas to pull over.  Authorities said he crashed the Lincoln Town Car and ran from police and used physical force against Thiel and Milonas when they caught him and tried to arrest him.

Additional details of the incident were not immediately available, including where and what time it occurred. Vyas told the judge that the taxi driver was not injured.

Morris County Deputy Assistant Public Defender Maureen Ingersoll asked the judge to reduce the bail so that Carranza-Covarrubias could have a chance at posting it but the judge declined. The suspect told the judge through a Spanish-to-English interpreter that he works as a landscaper, has lived in Morris County three years and has no local relatives, only friends.

The judge noted multiple reasons to keep the bail at $250,000, including the defendant's lack of ties to the community, his previous deportation, and the seriousness of the charges.

"I think Mr. Covarrubias is a considerable flight risk," Taylor said. "He has already demonstrated a propensity for flight from law enforcement."

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.