Woodbridge Man Attacked Stepfather With Hammer, Prosecutor Alleges

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A 22-year-old Woodbridge man is charged with attempted murder after striking his stepfather in the head several times with a hammer, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner.

The man survived the alleged attack, but remains in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon. The stepson has been taken into police custody.

This happened at approximately 6:42 p.m. Saturday inside a home on Sherry Street in Woodbridge: Woodbridge Police were called there for a 911 call of an unconscious man who suffered blunt force trauma to the head.

The stepfather, 48 years old, was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where he is currently in critical condition.

Police say his stepson, Ronald Javier Polanco-Barrera, 22, of Woodbridge, struck his stepfather with a hammer several times in the head. Polanco-Barrera was arrested without incident and charged with first- degree Attempted Murder, second-degree Aggravated Assault and weapons charges.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Penna of the Woodbridge Police Department at 732-634-7700 ext. 7326 or Detective Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745- 8843.