Barnegat teens charged with attacking man in restroom of Toms River restaurant

TOMS RIVER - Two Barnegat teens have been charged with mugging a 25-year-old man in the restroom of a restaurant on Route 37 earlier this week, according to police.

Michael Fischkelta, 18, of Barnegat, and a 17-year-old male who has not been identified because he is a minor, were arrested for the early morning attack last Sunday, said Jillian Messina, a spokeswoman for the Toms River Police Department.

Fischkelta was charged with robbery, simple assault and theft, and was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, from where he has since been released. Juvenile complaints were approved for robbery, aggravated assault and theft against the 17-year-old, Messina said.

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The incident occurred just after 2 a.m. at a restaurant not identified by police, but is located on Route 37 East.

The victim told police that he had been in the restroom washing his hands when he was assaulted by two males, who then took his car keys and stole his vehicle from the parking lot, Messina said.

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The police were called to the scene at 2:06 a.m. and the 25-year-old man was taken to nearby Community Medical Center for treatment of the injuries he suffered in the attack, she said.

A subsquent investigation involved the Toms River and Barnegat police departments, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations Unit and the Prosecutor’s Office, which led to the identification and arrests of the teens, she said.

The victim’s vehicle was also recovered in Barnegat, Messina said.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Barnegat NJ teens charged with attacking man at Route 37 restaurant