Lakewood Man Faces Murder Charge After Man's Body Left In Road

HOWELL, NJ — A Lakewood man has been charged with murder in the death of another Lakewood man whose body was found lying in the middle of Hurley Pond Road last Friday morning, the Monmouth County prosecutor's office announced Thursday.

Juan Carlos Rivera Rojas, 29, of Linden Avenue in Lakewood, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Domingo Merino Rafael, 33, of Seminole Drive in Lakewood, Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

Rivera Rojas, who uses the alias also known as Omar Rivera Rojas, is being held in the Monmouth County jail in Freehold Township pending a first appearance and detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for Nov. 1 before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon.

The body of Merino Rafael was found in the middle of Hurley Pond Road just east of Route 547 in Howell and reported to police in a 911 call at 3:46 a.m. on Oct. 18. Police found him lying face-down, and initially investigated the incident as a fatal hit-and-run by a motor vehicle, authorities said. But investigators with the Monmouth County Serious Collision Accident Response Team determined it was not a hit-and-run.

Merino Rafael was pronounced dead at 4:12 a.m. by doctors at Newark Beth Israel Hospital, and Dr. Allison Mautone of the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner's Office conducted the autopsy and ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators from the prosecutor's office and Howell Township Police Department determined Rivera Rojas and Merino Rafael got into an argument that ended with the killing of Merino Rafael as the two returned to Lakewood shortly after 3 a.m. after spending the evening in Middlesex County, Gramiccioni said.

"This arrest was the result of outstanding work done by all the investigators from our Major Crimes Bureau and Forensics Unit, as well as the Howell Township Police Department, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, and the Lakewood Police Department. The inter-agency cooperation could not have been better," Gramiccioni said.

"My initial impression was this was going to be a challenging investigation," Howell Police Chief Andrew J. Kudrick Jr. said. But investigators worked around the clock to solve the killing. "This is the perfect example of law enforcement working together for a dedicated purpose."
If convicted, Rivera Rojas faces a minimum of 30 years in prison without parole and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act, the prosecutor's office said.

Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to contact Detective Kevin Condon of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 800-533-7443 or Detective Sgt. Peter Kuppler of the Howell Township Police Department at 732-938-4575, ext. 2245.

Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; they can text "MONMOUTH" plus their tip to 274637; or, they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com. Monmouth County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of criminals and fugitives.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan.

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