Judge Rejects Bail for Psycho Who Threw Rock at Schoolbus, Severely Injuring Jewish 3rd Grader, ICE Places Detainer

A homeless fugitive who told the court he believed a school bus was “evil” was ordered detained Friday after allegedly hurling a rock through a bus window, shattering an 8-year-old girl’s skull and traumatizing a bus full of third graders, prosecutors told a Bergen County judge.

Superior Court Judge Marc Ramundo ordered Hernando Garcia Morales, 40, held in the Bergen County jail following a detention hearing in Hackensack, citing his violent history, flight risk, and danger to the public.

Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Ricky Ruddy said the attack left the young victim with catastrophic head injuries that required surgeons to operate in her skull, remove bone fragments, and implant a plate.

The child suffered a deep, nickel-sized fracture so severe that swelling forced her eyes shut, Ruddy told the court.

He added that she permanently lost the use of her right sinus due to the injury.

The girl was riding with fellow third graders from Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, returning from a class trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, when the rock smashed through the bus window last week.

“The little girl took the worst of it, but all of the children on the bus were harmed seeing this,” Ruddy told the judge.

After hearing both sides, Ramundo ordered Garcia Morales detained for allegedly throwing the baseball-sized rock near New Jersey Turnpike Exits 70 A and B on Jan. 7.

“You go from kids having fun to hearing crying and chaos on the bus,” the judge said.

Ramundo described Garcia Morales as “repetitive, very violent and very dangerous,” adding that “no conditions other than detention will ensure this defendant will return to court.”

The injured child’s parents attended the hearing via Zoom.

During the proceeding, the court learned that Garcia Morales, originally from Oaxaca, had been a fugitive for nearly 17 years following a burglary conviction.

Prosecutors said he had been living in Old Croaker Park, a section of Overpeck Park, where he had set up a makeshift campsite.

They also revealed that Garcia Morales had been arrested eight times for throwing rocks in Bogota, along with prior incidents involving peering into residential homes.

The parents also learned that Garcia Morales has a daughter of his own, about 10 years old, whom he had abandoned.

Defense attorney Heather Aguilar told the judge that GarciaMorales suffers from mental health issues.

She said he threw the rock because he believed the bus was “evil” and claimed he did not intend to injure anyone.

Ruddy rejected that explanation, telling the court that Garcia Morales “takes every opportunity to harm people or damage property.”

“He attempts to evade law enforcement at every possible junction and therefore must be detained,” the prosecutor said.

Ramundo agreed, ruling that Garcia Morales met all three standards required for detention: danger to the community, risk of flight, and risk of obstruction.

The judge said Garcia Morales’ history of “random acts of violence” and peering into the windows of sleeping residents created “an extra level of danger to the community” if he were released.

Even if the court had ordered his release, GarciaMorales would not have gone free.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on him, requiring that he remain in custody for immigration proceedings.

ICE issues detainers when it has proof or reasonable suspicion that an inmate is in the country illegally, with the person’s status considered “uncertain” or “contested.”

Under the detainer, Garcia Morales will be brought before a federal immigration judge in Newark, who will determine whether he is in the United States legally and what happens next.

He could be deported immediately or returned to Bergen County to stand trial on the school bus assault and other pending charges.

Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton has honored the ICE detainer, unlike sheriffs in some other New Jersey counties.

Authorities said Garcia Morales was captured last Friday, Jan. 9, in Old Croaker Park, near Fort Lee Road and close to where the rock was thrown.

Law enforcement sources said he was quickly identified and tracked down due to his extensive criminal record.

Garcia Morales had previously been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Bogota last July, spending two months in jail before being released in September.

Within weeks, he was charged again with aggravated assault on law enforcement officers on Oct. 5 and Oct. 11, records show.

This time, the New Jersey State Police Target Hardening Unit worked with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Teaneck and Bogota to locate and arrest him.

He now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault, child endangerment, resisting arrest, and illegal weapons possession.

Following Friday’s hearing, Judge Ramundo ordered Garcia Morales returned to the Bergen County jail.

Sol Itzkowitz, head of Bergen County Chaverim, tells Belaaz that he is grateful for the ruling, and praised the “swift actions of law enforcement in apprehending the suspect and keeping our communities safe.”