Bridgeport, Conn. — A 30-year-old woman has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for her involvement in a violent carjacking and stalking incident that unfolded in June 2023. Emily “Emy” Rodriguez was sentenced in federal court on Monday to seven years and three months, followed by three years of supervised release.
The case against Rodriguez stemmed from a series of events that began with the theft of two all-terrain vehicles from her home in Waterbury. After the theft, she and her co-defendants took to social media in a desperate attempt to identify those responsible, offering monetary rewards for information. This misguided effort eventually led them to target innocent victims.
Rodriguez, along with accomplices Ricardo Verdejo, Michael McCann-Ortiz, and Luis Cruz, misidentified one of the victims as the ATV thief. On the night of the incident, the victim was returning home from work when he and a friend were surrounded by the assailants in three vehicles. Verdejo, carrying an assault-style rifle, exited his vehicle along with McCann-Ortiz and Cruz to confront the victims.
The confrontation quickly escalated as the attackers made threats to kill the victims while physically assaulting them. Verdejo struck one victim in the head and used the rifle’s barrel against both men. Meanwhile, McCann-Ortiz was reported to have punched and kicked one of the victims, resulting in severe injuries that required medical attention.
Cruz, recovering from a leg injury at the time, utilized his crutch as a weapon against one of the victims. In addition to the physical assault, the group stole the second victim’s vehicle and various personal belongings.
Following the attack, Rodriguez and her accomplices relentlessly harassed the victims, even hacking into a Facebook account associated with one of them to issue further threats. Rodriguez was arrested and has remained in custody since mid-April 2024, after pleading guilty to charges of stalking resulting in serious bodily injury.
Previously, her co-defendants had also pleaded guilty and received sentences for their roles in the incident. This conviction is part of a broader investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department.
As the case concludes, authorities hope that the sentencing of Rodriguez and her accomplices will serve as a warning against similar acts of violence and vigilantism.