New Jersey

Off-Duty New Jersey Cop Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Homicide in Fatal Crash

An off-duty New Jersey police officer has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a crash that killed a motorcyclist last fall.

The Middlesex County prosecutor's office said 30-year-old Elizabeth officer Romulo Meneses-Alvarez also pleaded guilty Monday to evidence-tampering and driving while intoxicated in the Oct. 31 crash.

Authorities said he was off duty and driving a Jeep Wrangler when he collided with the victim's motorcycle in Elizabeth, killing 29-year-old Jairo Lozano.

A plea agreement with prosecutors calls for a term of 364 days in the county jail when the defendant is sentenced July 13. He must also forfeit his current public employment with the Elizabeth Police Department.

Middlesex County prosecutors have been handling the case because Union County prosecutors have an unspecified conflict.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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