Ecuador man sentenced to NJ prison for attempted murder

🔴 Man pleads guilty to attempted murder

🔴 The victim, an 18-year-old girl, was found after a 911 call

🔴 Police officers saved the victim's life, officials said

ELIZABETH — A citizen of Ecuador has been sentenced to seven years in state prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder.

Nelson Lata-Sanchez, 23, who lived in Elizabeth, was sentenced last Friday in Superior Court in Union County, according to Union County Prosecutor William Daniel.

He must serve just shy of six years in prison before he is eligible for parole under New Jersey's No Early Release Act.

Prosecutors said he attacked a woman at an apartment in the city last June.

Victim found after 911 hang-up call

On June 14, 2024, Elizabeth police responded to an apartment on Fulton Street. Police had received a 911 call from the apartment but the caller hung up.

Prosecutors said the officers found the victim, an 18-year-old woman, with "numerous severe injuries."

"I commend the initial responding officers, Christina Pecorella, Victor Valdez, and Selvin Rubi, of the Elizabeth Police Department. Their swift actions upon arrival at the crime scene helped save the life of the victim," Daniel said.

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She was hospitalized in critical condition at University Hospital in Newark.

Lata-Sanchez was arrested at the apartment. He was taken to Essex County Jail, where records showed he was born in Ecuador.

New Jersey 101.5 has filed an open records request to obtain court documents with more information.

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