Newington

Local Radio DJ Charged in Newington Gas Station Assault

A local radio DJ has been arrested by Newington police in connection with a violent assault at a Newington gas station in March and he is on leave from his job at River 105.9.

Joseph Aguiar, 41, of Wethersfield, turned himself in to police on Tuesday.

Aguiar is accused of lunging toward an unsuspecting victim who was sitting in a car outside the Mobil Gas Station at 50 Fenn Road around 10:30 p.m. on March 8, grabbing the man and throwing him to the ground, causing the man to hit his head on the pavement, according to police.

The victim was unconscious for two minutes after the attack, police said.

Aguiar works as a radio personality for River 105.9, according to a representative of iHeartMedia, the company that owns the station. According to his biography on the station’s website, Aguiar has been in radio since 1997 and with River 105.9 since 2005.

NBC Connecticut has requested comment from the company on Aguiar's arrest and they provided the following statement:

"We take matters of this kind very seriously. The employee is on temporary leave from his job until we can further review the situation and the we will take the appropriate action." - Steve Honeycomb, Connecticut Regional Market manager for iHeartMedia.

In the police report, Aguiar said believed he was being robbed when he assaulted the other man. Aguiar told police he mistook the victim’s car for his own, and confronted the man when he got in the vehicle.

He claimed he thought the man was trying to steal his phone and credit cards so he got in the car and checked the center console, but realized his phone wasn't in it. When he got out and looked around he spotted his own car and took off.

Aguiar told police he considered reporting the incident to police that night but decided not to.

Aguiar was identified in images captured by surveillance cameras. Police said they had identified a suspect last month, but did not release his name at the time. They did say he was cooperating with police.

Surveillance video from the gas station shows Aguiar pulling the victim out of the victim’s own vehicle and throwing him on the ground. Aguiar then got in the driver’s seat, closed the door, then exited the car and went to his own vehicle, according to the police report.

Aguiar has been charged with third-degree assault, third-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace.

Aguiar posted bond and is due in court on April 25.

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