A 29-year-old Fairview man is facing a stack of felony charges after police say he chased a woman with a knife and threatened to kill both her and a young child during a domestic dispute over the weekend. Eswuar Amilcar Herrera, a Guatemalan national, was found hiding behind the property severely intoxicated after officers responded to the home, according to police.
The incident unfolded on 6th Street in Fairview shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Daily Voice, which reported that the victim managed to call 911 from outside the home after Herrera allegedly chased her with the weapon. Per Fairview Deputy Police Chief John Pierrotti, Herrera had argued with the woman before the confrontation escalated, telling her he wanted to kill both the woman and the child. As reported by Independent Online News, Fairview police were dispatched to the home for a domestic incident involving a weapon.
According to New Jersey's 1991 Uniform Crime Report, police reported 55,698 domestic-violence offenses statewide that year, a 10% increase over the 50,823 reported in 1990.
Officers located Herrera behind the property, severely intoxicated, and took him into custody, Pierrotti said. He was subsequently taken to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center before being lodged in the Bergen County Jail. The Bergen County Sheriff's Office provided the booking photo distributed alongside the case.
Multiple Felony Counts Filed
Borough police formally charged Herrera with two counts each of domestic aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, making terroristic threats, and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the same account. He also faces single counts of child endangerment and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The doubled counts on the assault and threats charges reflect that both the woman and the child were allegedly targeted.
Under New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b), aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is subject to varying grades and penalties, including fines of up to $150,000, per Team Law. Separately, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3 addresses terroristic threats, while N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4 addresses child endangerment. Terroristic threats is also a third-degree crime punishable by up to five years in prison, while child endangerment can rise to a second-degree felony carrying five to ten years in state prison, according to Villani & DeLuca. New Jersey's child endangerment statute applies when an adult subjects a minor under 18 to a foreseeable risk of physical or psychological harm, per that same source.
Held Without Bond Under State Reform Law
Herrera is being held without bond, according to jail records. New Jersey's Criminal Justice Reform Act uses a risk-based assessment model rather than traditional cash bail. Guidance from the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall says first appearances generally occur within 48 hours and detention hearings generally occur within about three days. New Jersey abolished cash bail in 2017 in favor of that Public Safety Assessment model. According to New Jersey Courts, the state's criminal-justice reforms include changes to the bail system and speedy-trial law intended to promote fairness and public safety.
Jail records indicate ICE did not lodge a detainer against Herrera. That is notable given New Jersey's legal landscape: on March 25, the state codified the 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive into law, imposing broad restrictions on local police and county jails holding detainees past their release dates based on certain federal civil ICE detainer requests, with exceptions including final removal orders and criminal convictions, according to Bolts Mag.
New Jersey Courts says a defendant is prohibited from possessing weapons when a final restraining order is issued.
A Densely Packed Bergen County Borough
Fairview is a borough of roughly 15,100 residents packed into under 0.9 square miles of eastern Bergen County, according to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by Census Reporter. About half of Fairview's population was born outside the United States.
A Densely Packed Bergen County Borough The Fairview case involved a domestic incident that prompted a police response.
