Short-staffed police ask prosecutor’s office, public for help solving brutal assault

A 56-year-old man needed surgery after someone struck him in the head in his home, leaving Wallington police with a “whodunnit” that, because of understaffing, they asked the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office — and the public — to help them solve.

Jerry DeMarco

05/05/2011 4:56 p.m.

A relative reportedly found the beaten Nelson Martin inside his Lilac Lane home in Wallington and called police around 10:30 Wednesday night, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

His detectives were summoned “due to manpower shortages“ in the Wallington police department and were working the neighborhood last night and this morning, the prosecutor said.

Nelson, who lives in the home with his wife, Guadalupe and son, Adrian, underwent surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, where his condition couldn’t be determined.

Investigators are now trying to determine whether Nelson was assault by someone he knew or by an intruder. They “haven’t ruled out burglary, vandalism or any other reason for this incident,” Molinelli said.

Anyone with information that might be relevant to the investigation is asked to contact either the Wallington Police Department at (973) 473-1715 or the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad at (201) 226-5651.

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