Two people have been charged with endangering a victim in connection with a homicide investigation in Morris County, authorities announced Wedneday.
The investigation began on June 13 when the body of a man, identified Wednesday as Stanley M. Robinson, 65, of Dover, was found by police on Patriots Path in Morristown, according to a statement from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Robinson’s body was found in the vicinity of the Morristown substation on NJ Transit property.
Enrique “Flaco” Vega, 33, and Cassandra West, 31, who authorities said are homeless, were present during a physical dispute between Robinson and another person during the early morning hours on June 13, the statement said. The other person was only identified by the initials R.E.
Vega and West found Robinson severely injured and they did not seek medical assistance for him, the office said.
A postmortem examination by the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Robinson’s death as a homicide and revealed that his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, investigators said.
The investigation into the death of Robinson was ongoing on Wednesday.
At some point after leaving the area of the dispute, Vega and West went to the Red Carpet Inn in Hanover, and on June 14, Vega took $2,500 from the cash register in the business office, while an employee had stepped away, authorities said.
The same day, Vega and West found R.E. dead in an unoccupied home on Ridgedale Avenue in Hanover and West tampered with the scene by discarding an empty heroin fold found near the body, authorities said.
Police found R.E.’s body on Monday and the final results of the postmortem examination conducted by the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office were still pending on Wednesday. However, his body did not show any signs of trauma, investigators said.
On Monday, West and Vega were apprehended at the Broad Street rail station in Newark, and taken to the Morristown Police Department, the office said.
The pair was charged with third-degree endangering an injured victim and defiant trespass for the Morristown incident involving the death of Robinson, while Vega was charged with burglary, theft and other crimes for the incident at the Red Carpet Inn, authorities said.
Vega and West were charged with criminal trespass in relation to the incident inside the unoccupied home and West was charged with tampering with evidence, officials said.
Vega was taken to the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing while West remains in custody pending a detention hearing, the office said.
Stories by Chris Sheldon
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.