Lakewood Uncle, Nephew Indicted In Connection With Howell Murder

BRICK, NJ – A Lakewood man and his nephew are accused of murdering a third man in October 2019.

Lakewood residents Omar Rivera-Rojas, 31, and his nephew Alberto Rojas-Hernandez, 19, were indicted Tuesday in Monmouth County for conspiracy to commit murder, murder, possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence.

In October, 2019, Howell Township police responded to a report of an unconscious man lying in Hurley Pond Road just east of Route 547.

Police initially investigated the incident as a hit and run, until SCART investigators determined his death was not the result of a hit and run.

The victim was identified as Domingo Merino-Rafael, 33 of Lakewood. He was transported to Newark Beth Israel Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem exam by the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner's office determined the cause of death was homicide.

Following an investigation, officials determined all three men traveled from Lakewood to Middlesex County on the evening of Oct. 14, 2019. The men were returning to Lakewood in the early morning hours of Oct. 18 when the three got into an argument that culminated with the uncle and nephew killing Merino-Rafael.

If convicted, Rivera-Rojas and Rojas-Hernandez each face a minimum sentence of 30 years in state prison without parole.