Fla., Man Beaten in Downtown Hoboken Sunday

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

Police are investigating the beating of a Florida man that occurred in downtown Hoboken Sunday morning and have one person in custody they say is responsible for the assault that appears to be racially motivated.

Charles Lee, 23, of Bayonne was arrested after an eyewitness to the beating told police that a front seat passenger inside the car of the assailant was riding in yelled racial comments at the victim regarding his Asian ethnicity.

Another witness told police that he saw who struck the man and even got a look at the license plate number of the vehicle the alleged assailant was riding in, The Jersey Journal reported. A DMV search showed that the car was registered to a 25-year-old woman in Bayonne.

Later Sunday, Hoboken police met with officers from the Bayonne Police Department to visit the woman's home in Bayonne. She was taken to Hoboken police headquarters for questioning where she became "visibly nervous" during interrogation.

She later admitted to police that she was in Hoboken with her car the prior evening and said that Lee was responsible for the assault and wanted to turn himself in, the article stated.

Lee, who was then brought in for questioning, apologized for punching the victim adding that he didn’t mean for him to get hurt. He was placed under arrest and has been charged with aggravated assault, bias intimidation and endangering the welfare of an injured victim.

Suffering from a serious blood avulsion, the victim, who has not been identified, was given 10 to 12 staples to close his at the Jersey City Medical Center.

The Hoboken victim's assault comes on the heels of two recent assaults in New Jersey that appear to be motivated by race. Last week, Abelino Mazariego, a native of El Salvador was brutally beaten to death by two Summit teenagers.

Police say a video, allegedly shot by an eyewitness, shows the teens punching Mazariego in the face and head knocking him unconscious. The man later died of his injuries.

The beating death of 49-year-old Divyendu Sinha, of Old Bridge occurred June 25. Sinha, a scientist and former professor, was a native of India and was beaten in his front yard while his wife and children looked on helplessly. He also died of his injuries.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said he planned to file a motion to try the suspects — four 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old — as adults.