Pair charged in murder
of borough resident, 26
FREEHOLD — Vito Basile still does not understand how any human being can take another human being’s life.
The owner of Basile’s restaurant, Park Avenue, said his family and his staff are very glad police have arrested two people believed to be responsible for the Dec. 21 murder of their employee Seth Mejia-Hernandez, 26.
According to Monmouth County Pros-ecutor John Kaye, Quadir A. Whitaker, 18, and a 16-year-old male, both of the borough, who had been arrested at a Parker Street residence on Jan. 9 and charged with possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes have now been charged with felony murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offenses stemming from the incident involving Mejia-Hernandez.
Following the arrest of Whitaker and the juvenile, authorities investigated the possibility of a connection between a 9 mm handgun recovered at the Parker Street residence and two borough shootings.
According to Kaye, the gun police found in the Parker Street home on Jan. 9 was used in both shootings. A ballistics report showed that a shell casing found on Marcy Street, where Mejia-Hernandez, of Monument Street, had been shot and killed, matched the gun found hidden in a rain gutter at the Parker Street house.
According to Kaye, the gun also matched a slug that was pulled out of Keith Lackey Jr.’s abdomen. Lackey, 24, of Howell, had been shot on Dec. 7 while riding in a vehicle on Haley Street. That was another failed robbery attempt, according to the prosecutor, and Lackey was not seriously injured.
Kaye said the 16-year-old male shot and killed Mejia-Hernandez after attempting to rob him. Cash was found on Mejia-Hernandez’s body.
Mejia-Hernandez, who worked at Basile’s restaurant in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, was found by police on Dec. 21 lying in the middle of Marcy Street. Kaye said the young man was shot in the chest, resulting in a punctured lung and a severed spinal column. He was pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m.
Whitaker has been in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, since his Jan. 9 arrest and the juvenile male has been held at the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center, Freehold Township. Whitaker’s bail was set at $1.1 million. Kaye said authorities will attempt to have the juvenile tried as an adult.
Mejia-Hernandez’s death sparked an outpouring of emotional and financial support from the owners and employees of Basile’s restaurant. According to Isabelle Basile, the young man, who was employed as a cook, was a valued and respected employee for years and was considered one of their family. The family and employees of the business felt so strongly about Mejia-Hernandez that they collectively put up a $10,000 reward with prosecutor’s office for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for his murder. It is not known at this point if anyone has qualified to receive that reward.
— Clare Marie Celano