Michael D. Barone’s attorney denied his client bit off another man’s ear during a Jersey Shore bar brawl, claiming a height gap made the attack physically improbable.
Barone, 35, of Toms River, and John P. Hafner, 34, of Point Pleasant Beach, were arrested after a violent confrontation late at night at Boatyard401, a casual beach-themed restaurant and bar in the area. Both men face aggravated assault and disorderly conduct charges stemming from the incident, which prosecutors say was captured on surveillance cameras and identified by bar staff.
The violence erupted after a woman asked the two men to stop following her around the establishment, according to Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Elizabeth Paterno. Another patron stepped in to assist her, but roughly half an hour later the situation turned bloody.
Prosecutors allege Barone slapped and choked the victim before biting off a large chunk of his ear. The man was knocked to the floor, where Hafner allegedly punched him repeatedly until someone pulled him away. Responding police officers observed at the hospital that the victim was covered in blood and a substantial portion of his ear was missing.
The victim will require multiple surgeries to repair the gruesome injury, Paterno told Superior Court Judge Dina Vicari during detention hearings held Oct. 16.
Cohen, representing Barone, pushed back hard against the biting allegations in court. He argued that his client stands four to five inches taller than the victim, making the ear-biting scenario questionable.
“I honestly don’t think it was my client,” Cohen told the court.
Despite the disturbing allegations and the severity of the victim’s injuries, Judge Vicari ordered both defendants released under strict pretrial monitoring conditions. Their movements will be restricted to work purposes, with Barone also permitted to leave home for visits with his child.
The case stems from a late-night confrontation that began with unwanted attention toward a female patron and escalated into what prosecutors describe as a savage physical attack. Bar staff played a key role in identifying the two men after the incident, and surveillance footage is expected to figure prominently in the proceedings.
Future court dates were not available at the time of the hearings.