By Liz Hardaway
A New Haven man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges alleging he stole cars from Uber drivers and other residents at gunpoint, according to federal records.
The plea comes a little more than a week before Tihaja “TJ” Ortiz-Tucker, 19, of New Haven, is expected to appear in court again to discuss whether he can be released from custody.
Ortiz-Tucker was arrested on July 22 regarding a federal criminal complaint. He was further charged in September in a superseding indictment with conspiracy, three counts of taking a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation and carrying or brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. If found guilty of the conspiracy charge alone, Ortiz-Tucker faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison, court documents state.
Ortiz-Tucker’s charges stem from an alleged five-month crime spree spanning from earlier this year. According to the indictment, Ortiz-Tucker and others, who were not identified, stole cars from five sets of victims in Bridgeport, Waterbury, West Haven and Wallingford.