STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A New Jersey man is facing robbery, assault and unlawful imprisonment charges on Staten Island, after what prosecutors describe as an act of violence on a public roadway.
Algenis Baret, 27, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was arraigned Feb. 9 in state Supreme Court, St. George, on several felony counts in connection with the alleged incident on the borough’s South Shore.
Baret, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was assigned a public defender at his arraignment hearing, but has since sought private counsel, sources said Wednesday.
Justice Alexander B. Jeong set bail for the defendant at $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash. He adjourned the proceedings to March 10.
Beaten, trapped in own vehicle, prosecutors say
Prosecutors say a woman was assaulted and became trapped inside a vehicle in a Nov. 20, 2025, incident that began near Drumgoole and Foster roads in Prince’s Bay.(Google Maps)
The incident first unfolded at about 9 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2025, near Drumgoole Road and Foster Road in Prince’s Bay, according to a criminal complaint.
Baret was seated in a 2010 Hyundai Elantra with a woman who was known to him when he punched her multiple times, before forcing her into the backseat of the car, the complaint continued.
The defendant jumped in the driver’s seat and drove off from the location, rendering the woman unable to escape, prosecutors said.
She was able to exit when the car “came to a stop at a red traffic light,” according to the complaint, which doesn’t state the location of the red light or how long the woman was allegedly trapped.
The victim suffered bleeding and bruising about the head and face, along with “annoyance and alarm” as a result of the incident, the complaint stated.