Jorge Santiago-Garcia pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on Thursday, June 9, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
On Aug. 31, 2020, Lakewood police were called to a business on 2nd Avenue in response to multiple 9-1-1 calls indicating that an individual had been stabbed. Police found Rodrigo Jimenez-Paz, 29, of Lakewood, with a stab wound to his chest, Billhimer said. Medical units took Jimenez-Paz to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, and he was subsequently pronounced dead.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, and Lakewood Police Department, identified Santiago-Garcia as the individual who stabbed Jimenez-Paz, Billhimer said. Santiago-Garcia was taken into custody at the scene, and has been held in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.
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