A second suspect has been arrested in connection with a violent carjacking that left a taxi driver in Howell with severe facial injuries and hospitalized for more than two weeks.

Baldemar Sandoval-Herrera, 20, of Asbury Park, was taken into custody Friday in Georgia after weeks on the run following the January attack.

Sandoval-Herrera faces a slate of charges including carjacking, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Police say the attack unfolded shortly after 11 p.m. on Jan. 16 when a 46-year-old taxi driver from Asbury Park picked up two men in Neptune Township. The passengers asked to be driven to a parking lot on Preventorium Road, across from Oak Glen Park in Howell.
But once the car arrived at the isolated lot, investigators say the ride took a sudden and violent turn.

One of the men allegedly slashed the driver across the face with a knife, leaving him bleeding profusely. The victim managed to escape the vehicle and ran toward nearby Old Tavern Road, where he was eventually found by a police officer on patrol.

The driver was rushed to a hospital, where he remained for more than two weeks due to the severity of his injuries. Authorities have not released an updated condition for the victim.

After the attack, the suspects allegedly stole the taxi and fled the scene. Police later recovered the abandoned vehicle on Maxim Road in Howell.

Investigators quickly identified two suspects tied to the crime.

The first arrest came on Feb. 3, when police charged Melvin J. Cruz-Salmoran, 19, also of Asbury Park. Cruz-Salmoran faces the same charges as Sandoval-Herrera and remains held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution awaiting further court proceedings.

Authorities continued searching for Sandoval-Herrera in the weeks that followed, working alongside the FBI task force.

Police said Sandoval-Herrera was ultimately located and arrested in Georgia on Friday, though officials have not disclosed the specific location or circumstances surrounding the arrest.

He is currently being held in a county jail in Georgia while authorities prepare for his extradition back to New Jersey.