Three men, including a police officer, have been indicted by Ocean County Grad Jury in connection to the April killing of a Jackson Township man
TOMS RIVER - Three men were indicted by an Ocean County Grand Jury in connection to the April killing of a Jackson Township man, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced Thursday.
Shortly after 11 p.m. April 9, Jackson Township police responded to Casanova Ristorante on South New Prospect Road for a report of an injured employee.
Hector Calderon, 47, of Freehold was arrested hours after, police say, he allegedly fatally shot a man in a defunct restaurant Thursday evening, authorities said. Responding officers found the body of Peyman Sanandaji, 34, of Jackson, within the restaurant, which had not been open to the public for some time but people had gathered inside of it the night of the incident, Coronato said in April.
Sanandaji died after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said.
A subsequent investigation determined that Sanandaji was shot during the course of an altercation with Hector Calderon, 48, of Freehold Borough, authorities said.
Prosecutor's office Detectives John Murphy and John Carroll responded to Calderon's residence, along with the Freehold Borough police, and arrested Calderon without incident within hours of the shooting, the prosecutor's office said.
RELATED: Cop charged with hindering murder investigation appears in court
Daniele RomeodiSantillo, 27, of Manalapan, was arrested on April 17 after investigators determined he was also present at the time of the killing and that the shooting took place during a meeting between RomeodiSantillo, Calderon and Sanandaji, authorities said.
Jackson Police Officer Eric Prosniewski (Ocean County Prosecutor's Office) On May 14, 2015, Jackson Township police officer Eric Prosniewski, 45, was arrested after authorities said he lied to help his friend, RomeodiSantillo, during the murder investigation.
Prosniewski - a 12-year veteran earning more than $112,000 a year - was suspended without pay pending the resolution of the criminal charges, which could send him to prison for up to 10 years, officials said.
Authorities did not say what Prosniewski allegedly did to help RomeodiSantillo, but Coronato and Jackson Police Chief Matthew Kunz said Prosniewski was off-duty at the time.
The indictment charges Calderon and RomeodiSantillo with murder, conspiracy, and weapons charges. The Grand Jury also found special aggravating factors applicable to the murder charge, the prosecutor's office said.
Additionally, the Grand Jury indicted RomeodiSantillo and Prosniewski for hindering and conspiracy to hinder.
The case is being prosecuted by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone.
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
