FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 320-3550

EMAIL:  rworrall@hcpo.org

DATE: November 22, 2021

JERSEY CITY MAN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH FRIDAY AFTERNOON HOMICIDE ON WEST SIDE AVENUE IN JERSEY CITY

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

A Jersey City man wanted in connection with the death of 46-year-old Haldy Thermitus, who was fatally stabbed in a vacant lot on West Side Avenue in Jersey City on November 19, 2021 has been arrested.

Raymond Chandler, age 45, of Jersey City has been arrested and charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1), a first-degree crime; Possession of a Weapon (knife) for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4d, a third-degree crime; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (knife) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5d, a fourth-degree crime; Hindering in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(1), a third-degree crime; and Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (cocaine) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10a(1), a third-degree crime. Chandler will be housed at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first appearance.

On Friday, November 19, 2021, the Jersey City Police Department responded to the area of Oxford and West Side avenues in Jersey City on a report of an injured male. The responding police officers found an injured male victim in a vacant lot behind 562 West Side Avenue. The victim, later identified as Thermitus, was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 6:10 p.m. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has determined the Cause of Death to be multiple sharp force injuries and the Manner of Death to be homicide.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department for the investigation and arrest.

The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6)