Prosecutor, Bernardsville Police, Investigating Report of Assault With Baseball Bat

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and Bernardsville Police are still investigating a reported attack with a baseball bat on a Hispanic man who had been sitting in a parked car in the vicinity of Bernards High School some time before 1 a.m. on May 31.

In a press release issued on Monday by the prosecutor's office, authorities said they are attempting to identify the suspect who allegedly opened the side door of a car containing the 25-year-old Bernardsville resident and began beating him with a baseball bat.

A friend of the victim reportedly transported him to Morristown Medical Center for treatment, the release said. The man who had been attacked sustained a facial bone injury as a result, according to the release issued on behalf of County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, the prosecutor’s office Chief of Detectives Stuart A. Buckman and Bernardsville Borough Chief of Police Kevin Valentine.

Soriano said that at about 1 a.m., the Bernardsville Borough Police Department was notified by Morristown Police that a Hispanic male was being treated in the emergency room at Morristown Medical Center for a severe head injury. The injury was reportedly caused during an assault within Bernardsville Borough, the release said. Bernardsville police officers then responded to the emergency room to initiate the investigation, authorities said.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad and the Bernardsville Police Department are continuing the ongoing investigation, the release said.

The victim was treated and released from the hospital, according to authorities.

Soriano, Buckman and Valentine ask that anyone with any information regarding this incident to contact either the Bernardsville Borough Police Department at 908-766-0037, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Squad at 908-231-7100 or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). Authorities also can be contacted or online for the tips hotline, or at the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office website, and clicking on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE.” All calls are confidential.