A dispute inside an Englewood apartment building turned violent on September 27, leaving one man with severe cuts to his abdomen and arm and sending both men involved to area hospitals. Englewood police responded to the Manor Park Apartments at 158-166 Grand Avenue at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the victim with the serious injuries, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. Two children were inside the residence when the fight broke out.
The altercation began as a dispute between 60-year-old Englewood resident Ahmed S. Mohamed and the victim that escalated into a serious physical fight, Musella said, as reported by Daily Voice. Investigators say Mohamed brandished a knife during the confrontation and cut the victim's upper abdomen and left arm. Mohamed himself suffered a head laceration and a broken nose in the fight, according to authorities.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office joined the Englewood Police Department in investigating the stabbing, according to Independent Online News. Both men were taken to area hospitals the evening of the fight; Mohamed was treated and released that night, while the victim remained hospitalized for several days before his release on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Charges Include Child Endangerment
Mohamed was charged with second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree aggravated assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, per Musella. He has no prior criminal record, according to Independent Online News. The child endangerment charges stem from the two juveniles who were present inside the apartment during the fight; under N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4, second-degree child endangerment carries 5 to 10 years in state prison, while the third-degree version carries 3 to 5 years, according to Breslow Law Offices.
The top charge, second-degree aggravated assault, carries a presumption of incarceration and fines that could reach $150,000 under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b), per the Tormey Law Firm. A conviction on that charge would also trigger New Jersey's No Early Release Act, which requires defendants to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to FindLaw.
Nine Days In Custody, Then Release
Mohamed was initially held at the Bergen County Jail after his hospital release. A Superior Court judge ordered his release pending his next appearance on Oct. 6, after he had spent nine days in custody, the Independent Online News report states. He is expected to appear in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack.
His release pending trial, rather than a cash bail arrangement, reflects New Jersey's Criminal Justice Reform Act, enacted in 2017, which largely eliminated traditional monetary bail statewide. Under that system, judges decide whether a defendant should be detained or released ahead of trial, according to the MDRC Center for Criminal Justice Research.
A City With a Lower-Than-Average Crime Rate
Englewood is a city in Bergen County. The case involves charges attributed to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.
