OCEAN COUNTY – A Red Bank man has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and assault by auto after authorities said he was drunk, had cocaine metabolites in his system and caused a head-on crash that killed a Lakewood woman and an 11-year-old girl.
Raul Luna-Perez, 43, entered the plea June 15 before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Luna-Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and one count of assault by auto in connection with the July 26, 2025, crash in Lakewood.
At sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 28, prosecutors will seek two consecutive 10-year New Jersey State Prison terms on the aggravated manslaughter charges. Those sentences would be subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Luna-Perez to serve 85% of the term before becoming eligible for parole. Prosecutors also will seek an 18-month prison term on the assault by auto charge, to run at the same time as the other sentences.
Police were called about 11:20 p.m. July 26, 2025, to Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive for a crash involving serious injuries. Investigators determined Luna-Perez was driving a Dodge Durango east on Cross Street with a passenger when he crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a Nissan Sentra head-on.
The driver of the Nissan, Maria Pleitez, 42, of Lakewood, died at the scene. An 11-year-old girl in the front passenger seat was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where she later died from her injuries.
A second 11-year-old girl in the back seat of the Nissan was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, treated and released. Luna-Perez’s passenger also was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries and later released.
Authorities said first responders noticed signs that Luna-Perez was impaired. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where a blood sample was obtained through a court-authorized warrant.
Preliminary blood test results showed Luna-Perez had a blood alcohol concentration of at least .19, prosecutors said. In New Jersey, drivers are legally presumed impaired at .08. Authorities said cocaine metabolites also were found in his blood, and a toxicology report concluded he was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash.
Investigators also determined Luna-Perez was accelerating at about 60 mph when the crash occurred and had crossed the double yellow line while passing four vehicles before hitting the Nissan, prosecutors said.
Luna-Perez was initially charged July 27, 2025, with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. He was brought to the Ocean County Jail but later released by the court on strict home detention under New Jersey’s bail reform system.
He was later transferred to federal custody on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. After the blood test results and further investigation, prosecutors upgraded the charges Aug. 7, 2025, to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide.
Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and the Lakewood Township Police Department took Luna-Perez into custody at an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth. He was returned to the Ocean County Jail, where he has remained detained.
Billhimer credited Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Township police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office for their work on the case.
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