Point Pleasant Man Charged with Attempted Murder

According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on March 27, 2025, Juan Santiago-Rojas, 31, of Point Pleasant Borough, was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in Ocean County on charges of Attempted Murder, Strangulation, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, all in connection with an incident that occurred in Point Pleasant Borough on August 22, 2022.

On August 22, 2022, Officers from the Point Pleasant Borough Police Department responded to a residence on Butler Avenue for a report of an unconscious female. Responding Officers found the unconscious female victim with serious injuries to her head and neck area. The victim was thereafter transported to Hackensack Meridian Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township. Due to the nature and extent of her injuries, the victim was transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she was treated and eventually released.

Santiago-Rojas was initially charged with Aggravated Assault on August 23, 2022, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. A fugitive from justice, Santiago-Rojas’ name was entered in the National Crime Information Center database.

On December 8, 2023, Santiago-Rojas was taken into custody by law enforcement authorities in Wilmington, North Carolina. On January 12, 2024, Santiago-Rojas was extradited to New Jersey, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date.

Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit indicated that Santiago-Rojas assaulted the victim and strangled her to the point of unconsciousness on August 22, 2022. As a consequence, Santiago-Rojas was additionally charged with Attempted Murder on January 22, 2024. Santiago-Rojas was served with the new charge by way of complaint-warrant at the Ocean County Jail.