Bernardsville Man Charged with Assaulting Neighbor

A 28-year-old resident of Prospect Street in Bernardsville has been arrested and charged with assaulting his neighbor early Sunday morning and allegedly leaving the man bleeding in the area of Olcott Square, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine.

Nelson Gomez-Marroquin, 28, of Bernardsville, was jailed in Somerset County on charges of third-degree aggravated assault and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to a release from the prosecutor's office. Bail of $50,000, cash only, was set by Superior Court Judge Robert Reed in Somerville, according to the prosecutor's office.

Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano said the Somerset County Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call at about 2:52 a.m., and Bernardsville police officers headed to the area of Anderson Hill Road and Olcott Square.

There, the officers found a 20-year-old male covered in blood with deep cuts on both of his arms. The man, also from Bernardsville, reportedly told the police officers that another man had struck him with a broken glass beer bottle.

The victim then began losing consciousness while the officers were working to stop his bleeding, the release said.

The man was transported to Morristown Medical Center by the Bernardsville First Aid Squad, according to the release. He was treated for his injuries, which authorities said consisted of stab wounds to his chest and lacerations to both arms, and later released.

Soriano said that detectives determined that the victim allegedly had been assaulted on Prospect Street in Bernardsville.

The victim was subsequently interviewed by detectives, and said his attacker was Gomez-Marroquin. 

Detectives later located Gomez-Marroquin at his home and transported him to the Bernardsville Police Department. 

Soriano, Valentine and Stuart Buckman, chief of detectives for the prosecutor's office, are asking that anyone with information regarding the alleged attack should call the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad at 908-575-3300, the Bernardsville police department at 908-766-0037 or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).

Information can be submitted online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE.” The prosecutor's office said all calls are confidential.