Mahwah Resident Charged After Alleged Assault on Elderly Landscaping Couple Following School Bus Stop
A Mahwah man has been charged after police say a dispute that began while a landscaping vehicle was stopped for a school bus turned into a violent assault involving an elderly couple in Bergen County, New Jersey.
According to police, the incident happened at about 8:40 a.m. on June 25 on Glasgow Terrace in Mahwah. Officers responded to the area after receiving reports of a dispute involving two landscapers and another man.
Investigators said the victims, a 78-year-old landscaper and his 68-year-old wife, explained that they had stopped their landscaping vehicle because an approaching school bus had activated its warning lights. While they were waiting for the bus to continue, a man allegedly approached their vehicle and began yelling at them for stopping in front of his home.
After the school bus left the area, the couple continued driving to their scheduled work location. Police said they believed the encounter had ended and continued with their workday.
However, authorities said the situation escalated after they reached the job site.
According to the investigation, the same man later arrived at the location where the couple was working. Police said he approached the 68-year-old woman in what investigators described as a threatening manner. When her husband stepped in to protect her, the confrontation allegedly became physical.
Police said the suspect threw the 78-year-old man to the ground before kicking him. Investigators further allege that the man placed both hands around the victim’s neck and applied pressure, leaving the elderly landscaper unable to breathe during the attack.
As the victim’s wife attempted to help her husband, police said she was also assaulted. Authorities allege the suspect struck the 68-year-old woman multiple times before throwing her to the ground. After the alleged attack, the suspect left the scene.
Following the investigation, Mahwah police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Aston Hamilton of Mahwah.
Hamilton has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault as well as simple assault, which is listed as a disorderly persons offense.
Police said Hamilton turned himself in later that evening. He was transported to the Bergen County Jail and appeared before the court. Following the hearing, he was released the next day.
Authorities have not announced any additional charges, and attorney information for Hamilton was not immediately available.
The investigation, based on statements released by Mahwah police, outlines how what started as a disagreement over a landscaping vehicle stopping for a school bus allegedly developed into a serious assault involving two elderly victims. The case will now proceed through the New Jersey court system as prosecutors continue handling the charges filed against the defendant.
Sources
- Mahwah Police Department
- Bergen County Jail