A forty-year old male from Middletown was placed under arrest and formally charged in the Township of Holmdel with simple assault last week following what authorities are calling a classic road rage case.
The incident took place in the Township of Holmdel near Roberts Road and Holmdel Road, when the teenager decided to bypass the left turn he originally planed on making and continued straight through the light. According to one of the witness, the Defendant became enraged and honked his horn a made an “obscene gesture with his hand”. Patrolman Maguire stated that the two continued to drive until they entered Route 34 heading south when the Defendant “pulled his car into the path of the juvenile’s vehicle and the two cars made contact and pulled into the northbound shoulder of the highway”. When the two began exchanging information is when the alleged assault occurred. When the Defendant tried to take a photo of the teenagers licenses plate, the teenager attempted to block his view and that is when he in-turn punched the teenager on the left side of his face. It is unclear who called the police but when they arrived on scene the Defendant had already fled the area. The teenager was taken to Bayshore Community Hospital where he was treated and released. The Defendant was formally charged on a summons with one count of simple assault. He was most likely released pending a court hearing the Homdel Municipal Court, which is located at 4 Crawfords Corner.
What Does the State Need to Prove for a Simple Assault Conviction?
Simple assault is the lowest level assault crime in New Jersey. It is considered a disorderly persons offense, which is our version of a misdemeanor. The governing statute is NJSA 2C:12-1a and although it does have three separate subsections, the most common subsection is NJSA 2C:12-1a(1). This is the section that the above referenced Defendant was charged under. In order to be convicted under this subsection, the prosecution must establish that the Defendant attempted to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury to another. The term bodily injury as been defined as physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition. So as you can see, this is a very low threshold. If convicted, a Defendant would be facing up to six months in the Monmouth County Jail and a $1,000 fine. For more information on simple assault charges in New Jersey, please contact our Middletown office at 732.858.6959.
Holmdel NJ Simple Assault Attorney
If you have been placed under arrest and charged with an assault crime like simple assault, aggravated assault, assault on a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon or any other offense for that matter in Holmdel or elsewhere in Monmouth County, Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. At our office we fully understand the stress and anxiety that most feel when they have been taken into custody and charged with a crime. As such, our attorney are dedicated to being very hands on with our clients, so that we can hopefully relieve a lot of the stress that most feel. If you would like to set up a free initial consultation with one of our Monmouth County criminal defense attorneys, then please contact us at 732.858.6959 or email us.
For more related information on this incident, please checkout the Asbury Park Press’s article labeled Middletown man punched teen in Holmdel road rage crash: Police.
