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NJ Stepson's Brutal Hammer Assault Leaves Stepfather Critical: Prosecutor

A Woodbridge man is clinging to life after his stepson allegedly attacked him with a hammer, authorities announced on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.

Woodbridge police

Woodbridge police

Photo Credit: Facebook/ Woodbridge PD

Ronald Javier Polanco-Barrera, 22, is accused of striking his 48-year-old stepfather multiple times in the head at their Sherry Street residence, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner.

Emergency responders were called to the scene around 6:42 p.m. and found the victim unconscious with blunt force trauma to his head, officials said. He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Polanco-Barrera was arrested without incident and charged with:

  • First-degree Attempted Murder
  • Second-degree Aggravated Assault
  • Third-degree Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose
  • Fourth-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon

The investigation, led by Detective Perry Penna of the Woodbridge Police Department and Detective Javier Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, is ongoing.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Penna at 732-634-7700 ext. 7326 or Detective Morillo at 732-745-8843.

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