determine if connection
exists with 2 shootings
Prosecutor attempting to
determine if connection
exists with 2 shootings
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Officials from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office are awaiting the results of New Jersey State Police ballistics testing on a 9 mm handgun recovered on Jan. 9 that may have been used in two recent borough shootings.
The unregistered handgun was found after a search of a residence at 45 Parker Street. According to First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr., police arrested three people who live in the house.
Honecker said Quadir Whitaker, 18, and two teenage males, one 16 and one 17, were each charged with possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Whitaker remains in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township. according to Honecker. The two juveniles, who remained at the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center, Freehold Township, are expected to have a hearing Feb. 10.
"We are recommending to the court to have all of them remain in custody," Honecker said Friday.
Honecker said the gun was sent to the state police for a ballistics check because officials suspect that the 9 mm was the same gun used in both shootings. He added that at this time, the three young men are the focus of this investigation.
"We’re close. We’re still waiting for the final ballistics report," Honecker said, noting that a preliminary report had already been received.
The investigation focuses on who shot and killed borough resident Seth Mejia-Hernandez on Marcy Street, which is in close proximity to Parker Street, on Dec. 21, and who shot Keith Lackey of Howell in the abdomen on Haley Street on Dec. 7.
Honecker said Lackey reported the crime five days after it occurred. The assistant prosecutor said Lackey is cooperating in the investigation.
Mejia-Hernandez, 26, of Monument Street, was found lying in Marcy Street at 2 a.m. Dec. 21, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye, who has said there was no "clear-cut motive" as to why Mejia-Hernandez was shot.
The victim was found lying on his back, bleeding from the mouth. When Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad volunteers and area paramedics arrived, the victim was fully clothed and had money on his person. Mejia-Hernandez was shot in the chest, resulting in a punctured lung and a severed spinal column. He was pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m., according to Kaye.
"We’ve been distributing fliers all around Freehold and the surrounding area requesting that persons with any information that might lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for murdering the victim" contact police, Honecker said.
Mejia-Hernandez lived with his brother and sister-in-law and their children and worked at Basile’s restaurant in Monroe Township. The owners and employees of the restaurant have put up a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his killer.
Honecker asked anyone with information about either of these shootings to call the Freehold Borough Police Department at (732) 462-1234 or the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 1-800-533-7443.