Community Corner
UPDATE: Barnegat Victim Still Critical; Alleged Assailant Posts Bail
Victim's aunt says, 'He is just trying to breathe.'
The victim, who police say was assaulted at the Lighthouse Tavern in Waretown on Saturday, is still in critical condition, according to Maureen Gillespie, spokeswoman for the Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Medical service personnel took Robert Bethanis, 44, of Barnegat, there on Saturday after he was discovered lying unconscious on the ground just outside the Lighthouse Tavern in Waretown.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, witnesses reported that another Barnegat man, Michael Lombardo, was seen striking Bethanis several times with his hands and feet just outside of the restaurant.
Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Jersey Shore Medical Center would not release any other information or elaborate on the nature of his injuries. However, Bethanis’ aunt, Patricia Thompson told Patch this afternoon that Bethanis was moved out of the trauma unit and into the intensive care unit.
“He’s doing a little better,” she said. “Right now, he is just trying to breathe.”
Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Thompson, 57, also of Barnegat said Bethanis’ parents and his teenage son were with him at the hospital this afternoon, and that she has been "bombarded" with calls from neighbors, well-wishers and concerned residents.
Lombardo, 36, who was , posted bail on Sunday, according to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River. There have been no new developments in the case, said Michael Paulhus, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman.
