A 41-year-old Paulsboro man pleaded guilty this week to murdering a woman and wounding a child in the same shooting inside a home on Elizabeth Avenue back in January, admitting he pulled the trigger once on purpose and, moments later, again while startled with the gun still in his hand.
Ramon L. Acevedo entered guilty pleas on Monday to first-degree murder, second-degree aggravated assault and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The charges stem from the death of Hazel M. Santiago and the wounding of a child inside the same Paulsboro residence. Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns reported the plea, the station noted.
Paulsboro police responded to a 911 call on January 3 reporting a woman with a gunshot wound to the head on Elizabeth Avenue, and found Santiago dead inside a bedroom, according to Daily Voice. The minor victim, who had also been shot, had already fled the residence by the time officers arrived. Acevedo identified himself during the 911 call, per the NBC10 report.
Startled in the Hallway, Prosecutors Say
According to officials cited by the station, Acevedo told investigators he had shot both victims. Prosecutors said he admitted to shooting Santiago during an ongoing dispute, while he told police he shot the minor while handling the firearm in the hallway of the home after becoming startled, Daily Voice reported. Following his arrest, Acevedo was remanded to the Salem County Correctional Facility, which handles regional detention services for Gloucester County, according to West Deptford Patch.
What Acevedo Faces at Sentencing
Acevedo is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. He faces 30 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder charge, along with five to 10 years each for the second-degree aggravated assault and weapons possession counts, per NBC10's reporting. New Jersey's criminal code sets that 5-to-10-year range as the standard statutory sentence for second-degree offenses, according to RLS Media.
Any prison term Acevedo receives will be shaped by New Jersey's No Early Release Act, which requires people convicted of violent first- and second-degree crimes — including murder and aggravated assault — to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before they can be considered for parole, according to Union County NJ Criminal Lawyer. Under the state's administrative code, those released after serving a first-degree violent sentence face five years of mandatory parole supervision, while second-degree releases carry a three-year supervision term, per Law.Cornell.Edu.
A Prosecutor's Office Focused on Victims
Johns was sworn in as Gloucester County Prosecutor in June 2025, having previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Camden and as a bureau chief within the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. In April, his office held a rededication ceremony for its Crime Victims Remembrance Garden in Woodbury, adding 42 new memorial stones honoring victims of violent crime across the county, South Jersey Media reported.
Local crime data adds some context to where this case fits. Violent crime makes up only about 3 percent of total arrests by Paulsboro police, compared with 75 percent for low-level, non-violent offenses, according to Police Scorecard. Still, FBI data analyzed for Paulsboro's 08066 ZIP code found an elevated violent crime index, with aggravated assault rated 60 percent above the national average, per DoorProfit.
