East Windsor Man Detained Pending Murder Trial: Prosecutor

EAST WINDSOR, NJ - An East Windsor man accused of murdering his neighbor has been detained pending trial. Jeffrey Vasquez-Calderon, 37, has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon in death of Luis Sanchez, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri and East Windsor Township Police Chief James A. Geary.

Sanchez consented to the detention during a hearing Thursday morning, according to the prosecutor’s office. His next court date is scheduled for March 25. On Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office provided the probable cause statement which revealed a plethora of new details in the case. Read more here: Mysterious Details Emerge In East Windsor Murder: Cops

Vasquez-Calderon and Sanchez were seen together at Exit 8 in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 27, according to the prosecutor’s office. The two were seen leaving the liquor store and lounge together at about 2:10 a.m. Vasquez-Calderon claims they went to Sanchez’s home before Vasquez-Calderon went to his own house to pick up beer, according to authorities.
He said that when he returned, he found Sanchez on the ground face down, authorities said. He told authorities he picked Sanchez up and got blood on his clothes.

Vasquez-Calderon said he washed his sweatshirt and sneakers and threw them away in a dumpster at the Cranbury Inn, where he works. He threw his pants away in a dumpster at Diversified Rack and Shelving, where also worked with his girlfriend and Sanchez, authorities said.

The two men live on the same block of Bennington Drive. Despite Vasquez-Calderon saying he found Sanchez’s body, it wasn’t until 8:30 a.m. that Sanchez’s roommate reported that he had found Sanchez and called police.

Upon arrival, East Windsor police found Sanchez's body on the back patio area of his home. There were visible wounds and trauma to his body, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
After viewing surveillance video from Exit 8 and identifying Vasquez-Calderon, police interviewed his girlfriend, who said Vasquez-Calderon was the last person to see Sanchez alive. She directed them to the Cranbury Inn.

They came across Vasquez-Calderon at about 10:15 p.m. that night, police said. He had a lunch bag with red stains on it and his sweatshirt in the dumpster, police said. After interviewing Vasquez-Calderon, police obtained a search warrant for his home, where they found suspected blood on the screen door and near the entryway, police said. They said they also found a knife with a wooden handle on the kitchen counter and a black bag containing grey pants with reddish-brown stains in the dishwasher.

Police then interviewed his roommate, who said he asked her to get rid of specific items from the basement, according to police. She said she took the black bag from his area of the basement and put it in the dishwasher, and moved the knife from the sink to the counter.
She also said Vasquez-Calderon told her he had “done something bad.”

Vasquez-Calderon was subsequently arrested. The details of his arrest have not been revealed, but he was being held in Essex County on an ICE detainer. He was then extradited to Mercer County, had his first court appearance last week, and is scheduled for a pre-trial detention hearing on Thursday morning.

An online fundraiser has been launched to help with funeral costs for Sanchez, who was an award-winning artist and father.