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John Zechowski told police he injected the victim with insulin, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said.
The woman told police that she was expecting a package and opened her front door Friday afternoon when Zechowski — wearing a black hoodie — knocked.
Zechowski “pushed her inside, where a struggle ensued,” the chief said.
The woman was knocked down and cut her head, he said.
Zechowski, who was carrying a syringe, “attempted to inject her” with a substance believed to be GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) and took off in a black pickup truck with New York license plates, Batelli said.
The woman then called 911.
Police found her conscious, with a cut on her head and one across her abdomen.
The woman, who said she broke it off with Zechowski several weeks ago, was treated at the scene by officers and paramedics and then taken to The Valley Hospital by Mahwah Ambulance.
Hospital personnel “indicated it appeared as if the victim did have a foreign substance introduced into her body via syringe, although additional tests were required before [it] could be identified,” Batelli said.
Using information she provided, police contacted Zechowski, who told them he was heading back to New York, Batelli said (He has addresses in both Greenpoint and in Chicopee, Mass., records show).
“After a brief discussion, Zechowski agreed to return to Mahwah headquarters,” where detectives interviewed him, the chief said.
Zechowski “admitted to the events that occurred, which were consistent with the victim’s statement — although he claimed the syringe contained insulin,” he said.
He said he then tossed the syringe in a garbage bin somewhere.
Zechowski is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a a weapon, simple assault, criminal trespass and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Conte, who set the bail, also issued a no-contact order.
MUGSHOT: Mahwah PD
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