Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Director Robert Hubner of the Woodbridge Police Department said that a Bronx man was apprehended last night in New York and charged in the fatal shooting of one man and the critically injuring of another at the Loop Inn Motel on June 21, 2017.
Officials said John Mingo, 29, was apprehended last night by U.S. Marshals in Brooklyn, New York and charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1st degree.
Police said Mingo, who fled after the shooting and remained at large, also was charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
He is currently in custody in New York. It was not immediately known when the defendant will be returned to New Jersey.
Three other suspects, Martin Martinez Jr., Cynthia Rivera, and Chelsey Mendoza, all from the Bronx, New York have been previously arrested, charged in the murder, and are being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center.
“I thank and commend the many dedicated law enforcement agents and officers whose well-coordinated and unceasing efforts led to the arrest of the defendant, including those from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the New York Police Department Warrant Squad, the Woodbridge Police Department, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office,” Prosecutor Carey said.
The investigation began when the Woodbridge Township Police were called to the Loop Inn Motel, in the Avenel section of Woodbridge on June 21, 2017 at 4:53 a.m. where they found the victims. The 21-year-old victim, Andrew Torres, of the Bronx was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:36 a.m. The second victim, a 24-year-old man, also from the Bronx, was taken to University Hospital in Newark in critical condition.
An investigation determined that Mingo, Martinez. Rivera, and Mendoza were involved in the incident at the Loop Inn Motel.
The investigation is active and is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Santiago Tapia of the Woodbridge Police Department at (732) 634-7700, or Detective David Abromaitis of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4436.
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Mingo, Martinez, Rivera, and Mendoza are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.