A man who was shot by a police officer in Holmdel on Oct. 26 has been charged with a number of violent crimes that took place leading up to his arrest, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Oct. 27.
Justin F. Chacon, 33, with addresses in Old Bridge and Brooklyn, N.Y., has been charged with three counts of first degree carjacking and single counts of third degree motor vehicle theft, third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and third degree resisting arrest, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
An investigation led by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and the Holmdel and Middletown police departments has determined that shortly after 5:45 a.m. Oct. 26, members of the Holmdel Police Department responded to Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel, to investigate a report of a commercial delivery vehicle being stolen from the hospital’s parking lot by an adult male, according to the press release.
The male was later identified as Chacon.
A short while later, members of the Middletown Township Police Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle collision that had taken place in the area of Route 35 and Navesink River Road in Middletown.
At that location it was discovered Chacon had crashed the stolen commercial delivery vehicle into the Route 35 center median and then stole a sport utility vehicle from an individual who had pulled over and attempted to offer assistance.
Then, just before 6:15 a.m., members of the Holmdel Police Department responded to the northbound lanes of Route 35 near the highway’s intersection with Centerville Road in Holmdel to investigate a report of a collision, according to the press release.
It was later determined Chacon had collided with a garbage truck, causing the stolen SUV he was driving to leave the road, strike a telephone pole and burst into flames.
After exiting the SUV and while brandishing a pair of wire-cutting pliers, Chacon attempted to enter two vehicles that were parked on the highway, but was rebuffed by the driver of each vehicle.
The responding Holmdel officers found Chacon walking in traffic and ordered him to drop the wire-cutting pliers, but he disregarded the order and began advancing in their direction, according to the press release.
At that time one officer fired a round from his service weapon, striking Chacon.
Following what the prosecutor’s office described as a prolonged physical struggle with the officers, Chacon was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital where he remained in stable condition as of Oct. 27, according to the press release.
The investigation into Chacon’s activities remains ongoing and anyone with information about them is asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Joshua Rios or Detective Ryan Mahony at 800-533-7443.
The circumstances behind the officer-involved shooting remain under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility Unit, acting in accordance with a New Jersey Office of the Attorney General directive titled “Ensuring the Independent Investigation of Criminal Cases Involving Police Use of Force or In-Custody Deaths.”
Convictions on first degree crimes are commonly punishable by terms of 10 to 20 years in state prison, according to the press release.
