FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Caitlin Mota
PHONE: (201) 577-6699
EMAIL: cmota@hcpo.org
DATE: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
INDIVIDUAL CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER ROBBERY VICTIM DIES OF INJURIES
Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit has charged a 23-year-old with murder following the death of a man who died as a result of injuries sustained during a robbery in Union City.
On Thursday, November 16, 2023, shortly after 3 a.m., members of the Union City Police Department located an unresponsive male in the area of 37th Street and Bergenline Avenue. The victim – later identified as Jorge Moctezuma Espinoza, 79, of Union City – was transported to Jersey City Medical Center with injuries to the upper body. In the hours that followed, the Union City Police Department arrested Isaiah Grey, 23, and charged Grey with Attempted Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1a(1) and 2C:11-3a(1), a crime of the first degree; Robbery in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1a(1), a crime of the first degree; Aggravated Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1), a crime of the second degree; and Endangering an Injured Victim in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2a, a crime of the third degree.
On Wednesday, November 22, 2023, Moctezume Espinoza was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center. An autopsy conducted by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the Cause of Death to be Blunt Impact Injuries to the Head and the Manner to be Homicide.
Following the results of the autopsy, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit charged Grey with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1)/(2), a crime of the first degree, as well as Murder During the Commission of a Robbery in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(3), a crime of the first degree. Grey was arrested on the additional charges at the Hudson County Correctional Facility on Monday, November 27, 2023, where Grey has been detained since being arrested by the Union City Police Department.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Homicide Unit and the Union City Police Department with 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)