Lakewood Man Arrested In Hit-and-Run That Killed 12-Year-Old Boy

A Lakewood man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run accident that killed a 12-year-old Lakewood boy on Dec. 16.

Jesus Arellano, 40, of Lakeview Place, was arrested early Saturday morning at his home by officers from the Lakewood Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle collision.

Edward Juarez, 12, was hit and killed about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 as he walked south on South Clover Street near the entrance to Lake Shenandoah County Park, not far from Cedar Bridge Avenue, police said. Reports have said Juarez was walking home with his brother and a friend and when he was struck.

Authorities said at the time the vehicle that struck Juarez was described as a dark-colored minivan or large, dark vehicle that may have sustained front-end damage and possibly a broken windshield.

Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said investigators developed information that led to a vehicle which was covered by a tarpaulin behind a residence on Lakeview Place in Lakewood. Arellano was residing there, Ford said. The vehicle has been secured and is being processed by the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigation Unit.

Leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle collision is a second-degree crime that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, Ford said.

Bail for Arellano was set at $150,000 with no 10 percent option by Judge James M. Blaney. Arellano is also being held on a no-bail detainer from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the prosecutor said.

Anyone with information concerning this investigation is asked to contact Det. John Hill of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 929-2027 or Sgt. Frank Work of the Lakewood Police Department at (732) 363-0200.