Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of Mr. David Garrido, 66, New York, on the charge of Murder.
According to Bergen County Police, on June 25, 1985, the body of Mr. Ricardo Brown of New York was discovered on the side of the road near Madison Circle Drive, East Rutherford, wrapped in sheets of plastic inside a wicker steamer trunk.
Authoritities said on June 28, 1985, a postmortem examination determined that Brown was shot once in the head and strangled, and his death was ruled a homicide.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was assisted by NYPD, as Ricardo Brown had been reported missing to NYPD since June 18th by his common-law wife.
During the initial investigation, officials say Garrido was developed as a person of interest.
On July 8, 1985, a search warrant was executed on Garrido’s residence, which resulted in the recovery of items of evidence.
However, despite the investigation, no arrests were made officials said.
During the past year, detectives from the North Jersey Regional Cold Case Task Force, with assistance from the NYPD, Cold Case Unit, renewed the investigation into the murder of Ricardo Brown.
The investigation revealed that Ricardo Brown was involved in the illegal distribution of narcotics and Garrido was a customer.
Just before his disappearance, Brown and Garrido were together when Garrido shot Brown and disposed of the body.
Police arrested Garrido at the Midtown North Precinct on February 19, 2020, by Task Force detectives and was charged with one count of Murder, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3, a 1st-degree crime.
Garrido is currently lodged in a New York City jail pending extradition to Bergen County.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and would like to thank the NYPD for its assistance in this investigation.