Ventnor man was indicted yesterday for the February 2017 stabbing death of an Atlantic City woman and the non-fatal stabbing of a Pennsylvania man, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.
Atlantic City Police and emergency medical personnel responded on Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 7:57 p.m. to N. Harrisburg Avenue, Atlantic City, for a 9-1-1 call.
Upon arrival, police found a man, Mark Richart, 52-years-old of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, on Harrisburg Avenue near Ventnor Avenue, Atlantic City, the victim of a stabbing. Police found a woman, Bessy Blanco, 54-years-old, inside her home on N. Harrisburg Avenue, also stabbed.
Blanco was pronounced dead at the scene.
Richart was transported to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center—City Division.
Next-of-kin of both victims’ families were notified.
Investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Atlantic City Police Department, with the assistance of the Galloway Township Police Department, the Egg Harbor City Police Department, and the Mullica Township Police Department, resulted in the issuance of criminal charges the morning after the killing, February 19, 2017, and the arrest on those charges the same day of Jose B. Lopez, 51, of 14 N. Oakland Avenue, Ventnor.
Lopez was charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
A Galloway Township Police officer on patrol located Lopez in Galloway Township later that morning operating a motor vehicle that belonged to the male stabbing victim. The officer radioed for backup units, stopped the vehicle and arrested Lopez without incident.
Lopez was transported to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, where he was processed for the arrest, then lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he remains.
Yesterday, Wednesday, May 17, 2017, an Atlantic County Grand Jury returned a 9- count indictment for:
* Murder—a crime of the 1st degree,
* Attempted Murder—1st degree,
* Burglary—2nd degree,
* Murder/Statutory Aggravating Factors for “purposely caus[ing] the death of Betsy Blanco while engaging in the commission of a burglary—1st degree,
* Felony Murder—1st degree,
* Armed Robbery—1st degree,
* Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose—3rd degree,
* Theft—3rd degree, and
* Carjacking—a 1st degree crime.”
A conviction for murder carries a potential penalty of incarceration in New Jersey State Prison for a period of 30 years to life.
A Murder/Statutory Aggravating Factors conviction has a penalty of mandatory life in prison without parole. A Carjacking conviction carries a potential penalty of 10-30 years in prison. A 1st degree conviction is punishable by 10-20 years in prison, a 2nd degree conviction is 5-10 years, and a 3rd degree conviction carries a potential penalty of 3-5 years.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666. Witnesses may also contact the Atlantic City Police Department Investigations Division at (609)-347-5766.