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On May 20 at 12:50 a.m., the Hillsdale Police Department received a 911 telephone call from a ride service driver saying he was assaulted in the area of Hillsdale Avenue and Hunters Court.
Officer Matt Soltes was dispatched, as was Officer Michael Ferrarini of the Washington Township Police Department.
Upon arrival officers were met by the driver, 37, of Newark, who was bleeding from a cut above his eye and said that the man near his vehicle assaulted him.
After requesting an ambulance to treat the driver, Soltes and Ferrarini approached the defendant, later identified as Matthew Hughes, 24 (and single) of Allendale. The officers determined that Hughes was “highly intoxicated, extremely agitated and had probably caused the injury to the victim,” the police report alleges.
To ensure their safety while rendering aid, police attempted to place Hughes in handcuffs. Hughes began to fight with the officers, the report says. Eventually, Hughes was secured in the rear of a patrol vehicle and the victim was transported to Valley Hospital for treatment.
Investigation revealed that Hughes attempted to rob the victim of $20 by striking him on the head.
Hughes reportedly assaulted the investigating officers again at Hillsdale Police Headquarters while he was being processed.
Hughes was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, a fourth-degree crime; simple assault, a disorderly persons offense; criminal attempt to commit robbery, a second-degree crime; and resisting arrest, a third-degree crime.
Judge Warren Clark issued a warrant. Hughes was lodged in the Bergen County Jail.
Chief Robert Francaviglia said he thanks the Washington Township Police Department and the Westwood Police Department for their assistance with this incident.
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