Lakewood man guilty of trying to stab roommate to death

A Lakewood man has been found guilty of trying to murder his roommate.

Marco Tulio Alvarez Lopez was charged with first-degree attempted murder and related weapons charges for stabbing his roommate, Mario Vasquez with a large kitchen knife in August 2014, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.

According to police, Vasquez came home and as he changed out of his work clothes, Lopez, who had been drinking, asked Vasquez for $50. When Vasquez refused, his roommate came back with a large kitchen knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. Police found Lopez outside the home on Laurel Avenue bleeding profusely and was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center for surgery Lopez's doctor later testified was necessary to save his life.

Lopez was found two-and-a-half hours later sitting on the home's steps with cuts and scrapes police said came from hiding in the woods, the prosecutor's office said. Lopez denied the stabbing but admitted he was Vasquez's roommate, it said.

Lopez could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and must serve 85 percent of whatever sentence he receives on Dec. 18. He is currently being held without bail.