2023 Bronx shopping center murder linked to massive cocaine debt, drug trafficking

The brutal 2023 execution of a antheral shot dormant successful beforehand of his wife astatine a Bronx buying halfway was the deadly result of a cocaine-trafficking indebtedness that spiraled violently retired of control, national prosecutors revealed Thursday.

Raymond Resto, 49, was ambushed successful the parking batch of a Target store astatine the Throgs Neck Shopping Center arsenic helium and his woman were leaving their car to drawback a waiting cab connected Nov. 26, 2023, the Daily News antecedently reported.

A radical of radical pushed Resto’s woman aside, blocked Resto’s way and tried to unit him into the BMW they pulled up in. When they were unsuccessful, they changeable him successful the caput and thorax earlier speeding disconnected without saying a word, officials said.

Resto was pronounced dormant astatine Jacobi Medical Center soon aft the shooting.

Raymond Resto was waiting for a cab extracurricular the Target astatine the Throgs Neck Shopping Center connected Nov. 26, 2023, erstwhile helium was changeable to death. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)

Charged successful the slaying are Ivan Collado, Arecio Collado, Patricia Villalba and Jerry Vargas, who national prosecutors said were seeking repayment for a important cocaine indebtedness owed by 1 of Resto’s drug-slinging associates.

Villalba, Arecio Collado and Vargas were indicted Thursday connected galore charges, including murder, conspiracy to perpetrate kidnapping resulting successful death, cyberstalking resulting successful death, narcotics conspiracy and weapons possession.

Ivan Collado, who was arrested successful February 2024, faces the aforesaid charges, on with further accusations of making mendacious statements. He has been held astatine Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest, records show.

According to national prosecutors, from November 2023 to February 2024, Ivan and Arecio Collado and Villalba were progressive successful a cause conspiracy, distributing ample quantities of cocaine crossed the metropolis and elsewhere.

The Collados and Villalba supplied a drug-dealing subordinate of Resto’s with kilograms of cocaine. But erstwhile the subordinate failed to repay the cause debt, the suppliers turned their absorption connected Resto, seeking retribution for the unpaid money, prosecutors charge.

The accused cause dealers, on with Vargas, plotted to find and execution Resto implicit the cocaine debt, going arsenic acold arsenic installing a GPS tracking instrumentality connected his car to pinpoint his location. After months of intimidation, the dealers followed the unfortunate and his woman to the buying center, wherever they ambushed him.

“As alleged, these defendants carried retired a blase and brazen strategy to stalk, kidnap and termination Raymond Resto implicit a cause debt,” U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said successful a statement. “They murdered Resto successful beforehand of his woman successful the parking batch of the Throgs Neck Shopping Center successful the Bronx.”

Resto’s transgression past dated backmost to 1991, erstwhile helium was arrested for robbery. In 2019, Resto was besides charged successful a national conspiracy cause case.

After the slaying, Resto’s sister told The News that helium was a devoted father: “He was each of that,” she said astatine their mother’s Harlem apartment. “A bully idiosyncratic and a giving person.”

If convicted, Villalba, the Collados and Vargas could spent the remainder of their lives down bars.

As it continues to investigate, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York urges anyone with much accusation connected the cause traffickers to travel forward.