Crime & Safety
Mercer Man Charged With Murder Following Fatal Shooting: Prosecutor
According to investigation, the men were involved in a motor vehicle accident just before the shooting.
MERCER COUNTY, NJ - A Mercer County man was arrested and charged with murder and other offenses in the fatal shooting of a Trenton resident, County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said.
Bruno J. Laboy Santiago, Jr., 33, is charged with first-degree murder, along with a second-degree weapons offense related to possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose in connection with the death of Wilmer Eliu Vidal Romero, 25.
The complaint alleges that Laboy Santiago purposely or knowingly shot Vidal Romero and that led to his death.
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On Thursday, March 13, around 11:23 pm, Trenton Police responded to a Shot Spotter activation in the area of Dayton and Grand streets.
When officers arrived, they found Vidal Romero in the driver’s seat of a Toyota 4Runner suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers rendered aid to Vidal Romero until he was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Marbrey said.
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According to investigation conducted by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department, Vidal Romero and Laboy Santiago had been involved in a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Liberty and S. Broad streets just minutes before the shooting.
On March 19, Laboy Santiago was taken into custody on the Mercer County warrant by a deputy from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Department in Louisiana during a traffic stop.
Laboy Santiago is currently being held in the St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington, Louisiana, while he awaits extradition to New Jersey.
The first-degree crime of murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to ten years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force Sergeant Roberto O. Reyes at 609-256-0997 or Detective Andrew Distefano at 609-209-3244.
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