By: centraljersey.com
MANVILLE – A North Sixth Avenue man was charged with aggravated assault after allegedly beating another man on the railroad tracks near Fourth Avenue on Sept. 4, according to a release from Acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco.
Fernando Salcedo, 19, of North Sixth Avenue, was charged with aggravated assault, second degree, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, third degree, for a wooden Louisville Slugger Grand Slam Youth Major League baseball bat weighing approximately 24.5 ounces and measuring 30 inches in length. He is lodged in Somerset County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
According to a release from the prosecutor’s office, Bridgewater police reported receiving a 9-1-1 call around 7:49 p.m. Saturday, reporting there was a victim of an assault in the area of Third Avenue in Manville. Bridgewater police notified Manville police, who found the victim, a 28-year-old Montgomery Township resident, at on North Street near North Third Avenue. The victim was bleeding from the face, head, and had injuries to his hand, ribs, and legs when police found him, police said. The victim provided an account of what transpired to officers, and offered a description of his attacker, they said.
From the information, officers determined the attack occurred on the railroad tracks near North Fourth Avenue, where they observed a significant amount of blood on the tracks, and a trail of blood leading to where the victim was found.
An investigation by the Manville Police Department and detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad revealed that the victim, along with a friend, met Mr. Salcedo on the railroad tracks near North Fourth Avenue earlier in the evening on Sept. 4.
According to the victim, Mr. Salcedo allegedly struck him with a baseball bat on the head, face and body. No reason for the attack was determined.
The Manville Rescue Squad transported the victim to an undisclosed hospital, where he was treated for a head injury with loss of consciousness, brain swelling, facial lacerations, and multiple soft tissue injuries to the face and nose and bruising of the ribs.
On Sept. 5, detectives applied for and were granted a search warrant for Mr. Salcedo’s residence, which prosecutor’s office and Manville Police detectives and uniformed officers, executed. Mr. Salcedo was found at the residence, and was placed in custody without incident, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Subsequently, detectives located the bat used in the attack in a row of bushes on North Fourth Avenue near Brooks Boulevard.
Acting Prosecutor DeMarco, and Manville Police Chief Mark Peltack request anyone with information on the attack contact the Manville Police Department at 908-725-1900, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad at 908-231-7100, or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-8477, or online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either Crime Stoppers or Tips Hotline. All calls are confidential.

