Prosecutor: Man found dead in Howell Township car was fatally shot
The victim was identified as 36-year-old Rolando Acte Mejia.
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The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office says a man found dead inside a car in Howell Township was fatally shot.
Officials say that 36-year-old Howell resident Rolando Acte Mejia was found inside a vehicle on White Street around 6:41 a.m.
That death investigation led police to several different areas around the town.
Exclusive video from Drone 12 captured a person holding a baby, then being handcuffed at a home along Spring Hill Drive. Minutes later, a second person was surrounded and cuffed by officers from Howell Township and Monmouth County.
A photo given exclusively to News 12 shows police tape surrounding a vehicle on White Street, and a witness says he saw a bloodied body inside.
In an exclusive interview with News 12, the sister of one of the people living inside the home on Springhill Drive translated what they said they are going through from a phone call to her home in Mexico.
RELATED: SWAT teams respond to Howell Township neighborhoods, multiple people taken into custody
“The police came, they took everyone out, they didn’t give any information. They destroyed the whole house, the bathrooms....everything is destroyed,” said Sara Esquen. “We don’t know who killed someone, we don’t know anything. They just took them to the police station and the whole day we don’t know nothing about that.”
Police sources confirmed to News 12 that up to six people were detained but were allowed to leave later that day. Sources also confirm that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents visited the family following the release.
“ICE came and took them and left their kids with my mom and my brother,” said Esquen.
On Friday, Howell Township Mayor John Leggio and Councilman Ian Nadel released a joint statement blaming ongoing issues in town, saying, “With regard to yesterday's events in our township, we cannot comment on an active investigation.
With that being said, we are completely disgusted with certain Township officials that allowed this situation to happen and allowed our residents' quality of life and safety to go downhill. Quality of life is one of our utmost priorities in Howell. We will not sit idly while our town continues to deteriorate. We stand with our residents and will be a voice to correct all of these issues currently happening within our municipality.
In the coming weeks, we plan on introducing additional ordinances to combat these quality of life issues and taking a firm stance on addressing all of these safety and quality of life concerns.”
Leggio says the council is planning a special meeting to address what happened there and why they say these quality-of-life issues must be addressed immediately.
News 12 reached out to ICE, which replied that it is looking into it.
