Allentown man accused of stabbing fellow worker
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

ALLENTOWN - One worker at a large horse-training facility in the borough was hospitalized and another was taken to the county jail after a stabbing incident over the Memorial Day weekend.

According to Lt. Gerald Lewis, of the New Jersey State Police, troopers from the Hamilton barracks were called to White Birch Farm on Route 526 at 11 a.m. May 27, in regard to the stabbing.

On arrival, the police found a victim hunched over and clutching his abdomen. Police observed a stab wound in the victim's lower-right abdomen, according to Lewis.

The victim did not identify his assailant. However, police said Jose Salazar-Esparaza, 40, of Allentown, was one of the men in close proximity to where the victim was found, according to Lewis.

A search incidental to Salazar-Esparaza's arrest yielded a 4-inch buck knife, which police believe is the weapon used in the assault, according to Lewis.

Police arrested Salazar-Esparaza and took him to the Hamilton state police station where he was questioned and subsequently charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was taken to the Monmouth County jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.

The victim, whom police did not identify, was taken to Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton, where he is listed in stable condition, according to Lewis.