South Jersey Murder Suspect Captured in Florida

A suspect in the Sept. 27 fatal shooting of a Camden man has been captured in Florida, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said late Friday afternoon.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service and Volusia County Sheriff’s Office captured 18-year-old Samuel Lopez, of Camden, on Thursday at an acquaintance’s home in Deltona, Florida. He is currently being held in Florida and is awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

Lopez and Reymond Pagan, 29, also of Camden, were both charged on Dec. 3 with first-degree felony murder in the death of 34-year-old Jose Franco of Camden.

Pagan was arrested at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, in Camden by members of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He was arraigned on Friday, Dec. 4, and his bail was set at $1.5 million full cash.

Camden County Police were dispatched to 28th Street and Pierce Avenue in Camden for a report of a man shot at around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.

Officers found 34-year-old Jose Franco lying in the street. He was transported to Cooper University Hospital. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 5:45 a.m. the following morning.