HOBOKEN -- A 29-year-old Bayonne man was arrested in Hoboken on charges he knocked a man to the ground during a dispute and stomped on the man's head while he laid motionless on a Washington Street sidewalk mid-day Friday.

Police say a Bayonne man stomped the head of another man on this stretch of sidewalk on Washington Street in Hoboken on Friday.

Robert Crute IV, who is currently homeless, was charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a victim, Hoboken Police said.



Crute and the unidentified man got into an argument on the 200 block of Washington Street at about noon, police said. Crute punched the man in the head and he fell to the sidewalk, police said.

Crute "proceeded to stomp on the victim's head with his foot before fleeing the area," police said in a statement.

Police said a witness followed Crute while calling 911, and a patrol officer arrested Crute about a block away on Hudson Street.

The victim was taken to Hoboken University Medical Center, where police said he was admitted for treatment for serious head trauma.

Crute was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, where he was held on $15,000 bail, with a 10 percent option, police said.

Police said Crute also had an outstanding warrant for an unrelated offense in Bayonne, and additional bail was set for that charge at $5,000, also with a 10 percent option.

Crute was arrested earlier this year after authorities said he punched a man in the face "for no apparent reason" Bayonne on July 12.

Around 5:29 p.m. on July 12, Crute punched a 47-year-old city man near Broadway and Silver Street in Downtown Bayonne, police said. As officers arrested Crute, he was "in an agitated state" and "spoke incoherently," Bayonne Police Capt. Janine Foy said.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.



