A man involved in a domestic dispute with a family member (not a spouse or partner) where he allegedly used a frying pan as a weapon, and where the victim was severely hurt, was sprung from jail, without bail, just days later, only to return to the scene of the original crime moments after he was let out, the Kearny Police Department said last week.
On Dec. 21 at 12:57 p.m., Capt. Paul Bershefski, Sgt. Phil Finch and Officers Jason Rodrigues and John Fearon, responded to a report of an aggravated assault at a private residence in the Arlington section of town.
Upon arrival, the officers say they found a severely injured woman in her 50s, who had fled to a neighbor’s apartment, seeking refuge from an attack by a family member.
Officers say they learned the suspect, a 27-year-old Kearny man, allegedly brutally beat the woman about the face and head with a frying pan before kicking and punching her once she fell from the blows from the pan.
Kearny EMS treated the victim, who remained conscious, and transported her to University Hospital in Newark.
The officers say they took the assailant into custody without incident.
The suspect, whose name we are not releasing for the sake and privacy of the victim, was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
He was brought to the Jersey City Medical Center in police custody for an evaluation before a later transfer to the Hudson County Jail, South Kearny.
Now here’s where it gets even more complicated.
Just five days after the original incident and arrest, on Dec. 26 at 6 p.m., a court ordered the suspect to be released from custody (it is unclear the name of the judge who ordered the release — or why someone alleged to have been involved in such a horrific incident would be released.)
Officers Bryan San Martin, Chris Montes and Jose Perez-Fonseca were dispatched to the scene of the crime (again) on a report that the man had returned there in contravention of a restraining order barring him from the home and from being near his alleged victim.
Officer San Martin says he arrived to find the suspect exiting the home from which he is restrained.
The officer placed him back under arrest for violating the restraining order. He was charged on a warrant with contempt and booked back into the Hudson County Jail.
As of presstime, it was not immediately clear whether the suspect was still behind bars.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.