15 years for stabbing Lakewood roommate

The Lakewood man convicted last October for stabbing his roommate in an argument over $50 the previous year is sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Marco Tulio Alvarez Lopez is required to serve 12 years and nine months before parole consideration in connection with his first-degree conviction for attempted murder, according to the office of Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.

The sentence is short of the 20 years sought by Assistant Prosecutor Jamie L. Schron, but Superior Court Judge Patricia Roe found aggravating factors outweighing any mitigating factors, according to information released by Coronato's office.

Alvarez Lopez was found guilty on October 21 for incident that flared on August 23, 2014 in a Laurel Avenue dwelling.

A report of the stabbing sent a Lakewood police officer to the house, where Mario Vazquez was found on hands and knees in front of the house, blood pouring from his abdomen.

During the suspect search, investigators were told that Vazquez's roommate, while drinking with a friend in a shared bedroom, asked him for $50 and was turned down, leading to the stabbing with a large kitchen knife that was recovered by Ocean County Sheriff's officers. Authorities said it was covered in blood and missing its handle.

Vazquez was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for surgery that was later described by the surgeon, in testimony, as immediately necessary to save his life.

About two and a half hours afterward, officers found Alvarez Lopez sitting outside the house, shirtless, covered in fresh scrapes indicating a wooded spot, such as the one at the rear of the dwelling.

Alvarez Lopez denied the stabbing, authorities said.