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By pleading out before a grand jury could consider an indictment, Edison Ortiz got a year’s probation.
Edison Ortiz (STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
Police in late October said Ortiz, a 45-year-old legal resident from the Dominican Republic, pulled the machete from his car trunk after his girlfriend locked herself inside during an argument and smashed the driver-side window with it.
She ran and Ortiz chased her, “brandishing the machete and swinging it at her,” Police Chief Michael Foligno said at the time.
Ortiz took off when he heard the police sirens, but officers found him a short time later — and recovered the weapon, the chief said.
Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Melanie Siletti agreed with defense attorney Robert Galluccio yesterday that Ortiz has come to grips with “control issues” that center on relationships with women.
Galluccio told Superior Court Judge James J. Guida that Ortiz is enrolled in the Alternatives to Domestic Violence program and received counseling from Care One.
He also has a child with the victim.
“I find it would be a hardship to his children, [who] he supports financially, if he went to jail,” Guida said. “What triggers this behavior might be emotions, anger that he has to address.
“He should be OK if he gets the counseling.”
Galluccio said that Ortiz currently owes $400 in child support and recently paid $100. He’s not currently employed but is actively looking for work, the attorney said.
He has been free on aggravated assault charges since posting $50,000 bail four days after his arrest.
STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia
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