A 37-year-old East Windsor Township man has been charged with murder and other offenses in connection with the stabbing death of a neighbor and acquaintance last week, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri and East Windsor Township Police Chief James Geary said.
Jeffrey Vasquez-Calderon, 37, of Bennington Drive in the Twin Rivers development, has also been charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The 30-year-old victim, Luis Sanchez, was found on the patio of his Bennington Drive home by a friend at around 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 27. When police arrived, they found Sanchez to be unresponsive. There were visible wounds and trauma to his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sanchez and Vasquez-Calderon, who are neighbors on Bennington Drive, had gone out to a liquor store and lounge earlier on Feb. 26, and returned to Sanchez’s home. At some point, Vasquez-Calderon stabbed Sanchez several times with a knife, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
Vasquez-Calderon is being held in Essex County on an ICE detainer, and is slated to be returned to Mercer County. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office plans to file a motion to have him detained, pending a trial.
The incident was investigated by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the East Windsor Township Police Department.
