A wanted man was extradited from the Dominican Republic back to New Jersey this week, more than two years after police said he fatally shot a Passaic teenager in 2022.
Yoniel Santana-Gomez, 24, was arrested Tuesday in the Caribbean nation following a years-long manhunt sparked by the slaying of 19-year-old Ariel Henriquez, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes announced Wednesday.
Santana-Gomez has since been returned to New Jersey, where he’s facing counts including first-degree murder and second-degree weapons offenses, the Bergen Record reported.
Authorities have so far provided few other details about the arrest. It’s unclear how officers located Santana-Gomez in the Dominican Republic.
In the early hours of Dec. 11, 2022, Henriquez was rushed to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center with a gunshot wound and pronounced dead soon after, according to the prosecutor’s office.
A subsequent investigation revealed the shooting unfolded in the area of Kulick Street and Central Avenue in Clifton. Police said they uncovered evidence that a crime occurred, and were ultimately able to identify Santana-Gomez as the suspected shooter.
If convicted of the murder charge, Santana-Gomez faces up to 30 years to life in prison. The weapons counts each carry a sentencing of five to 10 years.
