“Family over everything,” Vilma Vneshta once wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of her only son. Prosecutors say that belief drove the 42-year-old Albanian-American mother to commit crimes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vneshta sat in jail without bond, accused of helping hide her 20-year-old son, a New Jersey State Police fugitive, in Miami-Dade County.
In a matter of weeks, she went from living in a Sunny Isles Beach condo to facing charges connected to a fatal street racing case under investigation in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Arrest and Extradition
Miami-Dade County court records show the North Miami Police Department arrested Vneshta and her son, Alvi Limani, a New Yorker, on July 17.
Deputies booked both into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Limani, wearing a neck brace, faced an out-of-state warrant. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office fugitive warrant section told the court that Vneshta was also wanted for a July 1 felony in Holmdel, New Jersey.
On July 18, Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found probable cause. Five days later, the NJSP said Limani had “fled to Miami in an attempt to leave the country with his mother.” A TikTok witness shared a 40-second video showing the two in foot chains after landing in New York.
Records show both were booked into the Middlesex County Correctional Center on Aug. 6 following extradition. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against them.
The Fatal Crash
According to NJSP, Limani’s charges stem from a June 29 fatal crash in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Driving a BMW X3, he was allegedly racing Jeter Ogando, 23, in a BMW M5.
Around 7:05 p.m., the BMW X3 collided with a Ford SUV and the BMW M5 before veering off the road, hitting several trees, and overturning.
Passengers in Limani’s BMW included Albion Hysenaj, 20, Emily Harrington, 19, and a 21-year-old Staten Island man. Hysenaj died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and the 21-year-old suffered serious injuries.
Police say Limani, whose license was suspended, fled the scene with Harrington, the only passenger not ejected from the SUV.
The Charges
Vneshta faces a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution and a contempt of court charge, with no bond granted.
Limani remains held without bond on aggravated manslaughter and evidence tampering charges, along with 13 other counts, including:
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Causing serious injury through reckless driving
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Obstruction of justice
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Vehicular homicide
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Leaving the scene of a deadly crash
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Leaving the scene of a crash causing serious injury
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Causing death and injury while driving with a suspended license
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Assault by auto
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Multiple counts of endangering an injured victim
Harrington faces charges of hindering, obstruction, and conspiracy to endanger another.
Ogando, of Perth Amboy, N.J., faces charges of vehicular homicide, endangering another, and assault by auto.
Authorities continue to urge anyone with information to call the NJSP’s Troop “D” Holmdel Station Detective Bureau at 732-441-4500, Extension 7426.
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