Story by Ethan
On May 6th, 2024, the arrest of Diquan A. West, age 28, was announced by Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi. Diquan A. West was charged with two counts of first-degree Kidnapping, two counts of first-degree Armed Robbery, first-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, two counts of second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, two counts of second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, two counts of second-degree Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons, three counts of third-degree Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact, and one count of third-degree Attempted Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact.
According to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, on April 20th, 2024, a report was made by a 27-year old female that she was approached and threatened at gunpoint by an unidentifiable male at approximately 6:00 a.m., in the area of Market Street and East 22nd Street, Paterson, New Jersey. The victim reported being forcefully taken to a remote unknown location around train tracks, where she was then robbed of all personal items she was carrying. She also reported that she was groped and had her intimate body parts forcefully touched before the unknown man fled.
On April 23rd, 2024, a separate incident was reported by a 28-year old woman. She reported that at around 5:10 a.m., an armed male approached her before taking all personal belongings on the victim’s person. The man also took the victim to another unknown location and forcefully groped her before fleeing the scene.
An investigation conducted by the Paterson Police Department identified Diquan A. West as the assailant in both reported incidents. Diquan A. West was arrested without incident on April 29th, 2024 at the Paterson Police Department Headquarters.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office stated that the charges against Diquan A. West are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
