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Bergen Career Criminal Charged With Mugging In County Park Bathroom

A repeat offender with a rap sheet stretching back more than 25 years mugged another man in the bathroom of a county park in Garfield, sending the victim to the hospital, city police said.

Rodney Sweat

Rodney Sweat

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Bergen County Sheriff

Responding officers grabbed 48-year-old Rodney Sweat as he emerged from the bathroom Monday afternoon at Dahnerts Lake Park, Capt. Richard Uram said.

The 56-year-old victim told them that Sweat assaulted him, taking $23 in cash.

The victim was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with cuts and bruises on his head.

Sweat, meanwhile, was charged with robbery and assault.

Sweat, recently of Garfield, had been freed earlier this year following an assault and resisting arrest bust in Hackensack.

His criminal record includes dozens of arrests -- for assault, obstruction and other offenses -- in Garfield, Hackensack, Lodi, Paramus and elsewhere dating back to the early 1990s.

Several times he’s been busted for driving while suspended or for not paying court fines and fees, records show.

Sweat has spent several stints in the Bergen County Jail over the course of nearly three decades, the longest lasting a few months.

He remained held Tuesday in the county lockup pending a detention hearing.

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