FREEHOLD, NJ – A Brick Township man was indicted by a Monmouth County grand jury for unlawfully disturbing, moving or concealing a dead body in Wall Township.
The charge against Edward Ramirez, 51, of Brick, stems from the May 17, 2018 discovery of the deceased body of Jamie Leis, 35, in the area of Brighton Avenue and Rockefeller Drive in Wall Township.
Wall Township Police Department responded to an initial call at 10:29 a.m. reporting the discovery of a body wrapped in a tarp and immediately called for assistance from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Ramirez.
The Asbury Park Press reported: Leis died as a result of a drug overdose, said Christopher Swendeman, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
At a detention hearing last June, Regina Ruocco, a public defender representing Ramirez, said his client and Leis were friends and both addicted to drugs. Leis was using heroin at the time and died following an overdose, the attorney said.
Ramirez, who was also taking drugs, panicked when Leis went into distress, Ruocco told a judge.
If convicted, Ramirez faces a sentence of up to 10 years in a New Jersey state prison.
The case is assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Cummings.
Ramirez is represented by Sarah H. Surgent Esq., of Freehold
