Lodi Man Charged With Murder Following Reports Of Fatal Hoboken Shooting

A tragic series of events unfolded this week in Hoboken, resulting in the shooting death of a Passaic man.  According to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, the County Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit has charged a Lodi man with murder after investigating a report of a fatal shooting that took place in the Mile Square City last Saturday, February 1, 2025.

According to Prosecutor Suarez, last Sunday, February 2, 2025, the Lodi Police Department contacted the Hoboken Police Department and the Homicide Unit after they received multiple tips that a male had been fatally shot a day earlier in a restricted area of the Hoboken waterfront near the Castle Point Skate Park.  A press release from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office states, “After an extensive four-day investigation utilizing numerous investigative resources, the Homicide Unit determined Erick Fernandez, 26, fatally shot Julio Flores, 23, of Passaic, at the above location. Following the shooting, Fernandez fled with the victim’s personal belongings, including his vehicle, and later returned to the scene to dispose of Flores’ body in the Hudson River.  Multiple law enforcement agencies have been actively conducting water searches in an effort to recover the victim’s body. As of this writing, the victim’s body has not been recovered.”

On Thursday, February 6, 2025 a warrant for Fernandez’ arrest was issued.  At the time the warrant was signed, Fernandez was in custody at the Garfield Police Department on an unrelated matter.

Fernandez has been charged with murder, a crime of the first degree; felony murder, a crime of the first degree; unlawful possession of a weapon, a crime of the second degree; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, a crime of the second degree; disturbing/desecrating human remains, a crime of the second degree; hindering, a crime of the third degree; certain persons not to possess a weapon, a crime of the third degree; and robbery, a crime of the first degree.  Fernandez is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first court appearance.

Prosecutor Suarez says the matter is actively being investigated by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit with assistance from the Hoboken Police Department, the Lodi Police Department, the Hawthorne Police Department, the Garfield Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Stevens Institute of Technology Police Department, and the New York City Police Department.

If you have any information on this case, you are asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201- 915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip at: hcpo.opsnetwork.org/tips.  All information will be kept confidential.

The charges against Fernandez are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.