Four Long Branch Residents Beat Bicyclist With Baseball Bat, Police Say

By Christopher Sheldon

Four Long Branch residents are facing attempted murder charges after they severely beat a city man with a baseball bat on Aug. 2.

Erick Ponce-Vasquez, 19 and Nick Robles, 21, and two juveniles, ages 15 and 17, also face charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. The four were arrested Thursday.

The 33-year-old city resident who was beaten was not identified by prosecutors. Officials said the man was taken to a local hospital and remains there in critical condition after being treated for life-threatening injuries.

The beating occurred at the intersection of Third Avenue and Chelsea Avenue on and was initially reported as a motor vehicle accident, according to the prosecutor's office.

An investigation revealed that the man was not hit by a vehicle, but was beaten by the four Long Branch residents, according to authorities.

Ponce-Vasquez and Robles were taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in lieu of $1.05 million bail, which was set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge James J. McGann. The two minors were lodged at the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center and their initial court appearances on Friday morning. They both remain at the detention center.

The prosecutor's office is asking anyone with information regarding the incident to call Detective Andrea Tozzi of the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office at (800) 533-7443 or Detective Marshall Brown of the Long Branch Police Department at (732) 222-1000.