A plea bargain that would likely have allowed Aleman to be immediately released from prison broke down after he refused to admit that he initially did not tell police the truth
Oscar Benedicto Aleman is led into court for a 2011 appearance. (Steve Hockstein | For The Star-Ledger)
MORRISTOWN -- The alleged accomplice in the killing of a man left in the trunk of a car abandoned in Lincoln Park was declared "mentally competent" Thursday to stand trial.
But later, a plea bargain that would have likely allowed Oscar Benedicto Aleman to be immediately released from prison broke down, at least temporarily, in Superior Court in Morristown.
Aleman, 49, of Fairview, is accused of helping Carlos Rojas, 24, of North Bergen, after Rojas killed Esteban Hernandez-Vasquez, 27, of North Bergen by hitting him over the head with a hammer outside Aleman's house on Aug. 3, 2011.
Rojas was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter following a jury trial in October 2014 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors said Rojas was angry at the victim, his cousin, because he owed him money.
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Aleman allegedly drove with Rojas in separate cars to Lincoln Park to help him dispose of the body as they abandoned a 1996 Toyota Camry in a wooded area.
Aleman was charged with desecrating human remains, along with child endangerment, because his then 11-year-old son was present that afternoon.
Under the plea arrangement offered to Aleman on Thursday by Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano, Aleman was to plead guilty to fourth-degree obstruction of justice, along with simple assault, a disorderly persons offense.
Aleman, who was born in El Salvador, is in the United States with his wife and son as a legal immigrant, but he is not a U.S. citizen. By pleading guilty to those low-level charges, he could avoid deportation, said his attorney, Joseph Scura.
The agreement also called for a sentence of time served for Aleman. Aleman has been held at the Morris County jail since his arrest in August 2011 -- more than four years -- and might have been immediately released if he had agreed to the terms.
Aleman, communicating through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, was prepared to plead guilty to the charges, but balked when his attorney, Scura, recited the facts of his alleged obstruction of justice. Under guilty pleas, defendants must admit to committing specific acts of the offenses charged.
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Scura asked Aleman, "When the detectives first approached you on Aug. 8, 2011, isn't it true that you told them you did not know Esteban Hernandez-Vasquez?"
"No," Aleman replied through his interpreter. "I told them I knew him and that Carlos Rojas killed him."
Aleman refused to budge from that position, meaning he wasn't admitting an obstruction of justice.
The case went into recess, and when it reconvened a half-hour later, Judge William McGovern announced it was adjourned to Nov. 18.
In the morning, McGovern had declared Aleman mentally competent to stand trial.
After Rojas' sentencing in December, Aleman's case had been delayed pending mental evaluations.
Scura said one psychiatrist had declared Aleman "not competent" to proceed, but that was mostly based on his "refusal to participate in a battery of tests" and to help in his own defense.
More recently, Scura said, he and public defender Dolores Mann spoke to Aleman and had "an extraordinary conversation."
"I no longer have doubts about his competency and ability to proceed," Scura said.
Another psychiatrist, who examined Aleman later, said he was "competent" and "not a danger to himself or others," court officials reported.
Judge McGovern, in declaring Aleman competent, said officials initially had the impression he wasn't competent to participate in his case because of the "frustration" he felt with his situation.
After Rojas was found guilty, Aleman thought he would be "immediately exonerated," but experienced "feelings of anxiety and depression" when he realized that was not the case, McGovern said.
In the past week, though, Aleman has developed "a new and more enlightened perspective" and has "turned a significant corner in terms of his ability to communicate with counsel," McGovern said.
Aleman told the court he was thrown off because when he was being evaluated by the first psychiatrist, "I was in one place and they sent me to another. That took me out of balance because I didn't know what was going on."
Aleman said he has never had any formal education and can't read or write in Spanish or in English. But, he said, he has no trouble understanding spoken Spanish.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
