Man arrested in 2008 stabbing after 4-year flight

Ortiz Espinoza, 40, accused of leaving roommate 'effectively disemboweled'

8:45 PM, Jun 4, 2012
Mark Spivey/njpressmedia.com
Nicholas Espinoza-Ortiz / Courtesy Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

SOMERVILLE — A Mexican national who was on the run for nearly four years after allegedly stabbing his roommate with a broken beer bottle in Montgomery in 2008 — an attack that left the victim “effectively disemboweled,” in the words of former Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest — finally will face charges in the case after being arrested in Texas last month, authorities announced Monday.

Nicolas Espinoza-Ortiz, 44, is charged with first-degree attempted murder, third-degree aggravated assault and a third-degree weapons offense, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

The victim, Artemio Medina, survived the surgery. Investigators determined that Espinoza-Ortiz, who initially left the scene in a landscaping work truck that he abandoned in Princeton, ultimately fled to Oaxaca, Mexico.

Bail was set at $1 million, cash only. Reed set the bail at fugitive status and explained the “extraordinarily high bail amount” by saying that Espinoza-Ortiz “actively engaged in a process to avoid detection and apprehension.”

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