TOMS RIVER – A Point Pleasant Borough man has been sentenced to a decade in state prison for attempting to kill a woman during a violent assault in 2022, authorities said.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, 31-year-old Juan Santiago-Rojas was sentenced October 3 by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari to ten years in New Jersey State Prison. The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring him to serve at least 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder on August 18.
Police were called to a Butler Avenue home in Point Pleasant Borough on August 22, 2022, where they found an unconscious woman suffering severe head and neck injuries. She was taken to Hackensack Meridian Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township, then transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for further treatment before being released.
Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Point Pleasant Borough Police, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office determined Santiago-Rojas had assaulted and strangled the woman until she lost consciousness.
He was charged with aggravated assault the day after the attack but fled the state, prompting a nationwide search. Santiago-Rojas was captured in Wilmington, North Carolina, on December 8, 2023, and extradited to New Jersey the following month. He has remained in the Ocean County Jail since.
After further investigation, prosecutors upgraded the charge to attempted murder in January 2024.
Billhimer credited Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Juan and multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service and police in Belmar, South River, and Wilmington, for their roles in securing Santiago-Rojas’ capture and conviction.
