Deported immigrant who came back to NJ indicted in fatal stabbing, kidnapping

ELIZABETH — A 24-year-old immigrant who returned to the United States after having been deported in 2012 has now been indicted on murder and kidnapping charges after allegedly stabbing a man to death outside a city bar earlier this year.

Rosendo Salomon Gomez-Serpas, 24, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, and two weapons offenses in connection with the April 9 slaying of 30-year-old Mario Ortiz, of Elizabeth.

He could face 30 years to life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.

Prosecutors said Gomez-Serpas stabbed Ortiz in the chest outside the Imperial Latino Lounge on New Point Road.

Gomez-Serpas then ordered a woman into a car and fled the scene, police said. Police found Gomez-Serpas and the woman about 10 hours later at an apartment on Marshall Street, officials said.

Gomez-Serpas is being held at Union County Jail with bail set at $1 million. Federal immigration authorities, meanwhile, have asked local authorities to alert them before releasing Gomez-Serpas.

In April, Union County Assistant Prosecutor Alan Silver told a Superior Court judge that Gomez-Serpas had been deported to El Salvador after he was apprehended in 2012 in Arizona because he was in this country illegally.

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Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-438-1015 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.