Man Assaulted With Baseball Bat, Tried to Settle $20 Debt

A Toms River man was hospitalized with head trauma in an aggravated assault after he tried to settle a $20 debt at a home off Old Freehold Road.

The aggravated assault was discovered while a Toms River Police officer was at Community Medical Center for a unrelated report, said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy. While there, he was approached about the incident by an 18 year-old female and 46 year-old male cousin, who said they drove the victim to the emergency room after the assault, two hours earlier.

According to Officer Ron Bayer who was in Community Medical Center at 320 a.m. Thursday, the two witnesses said they drove Tyler Wallis, 20, to the emergency room.

Wallis had been hit in the head with a bat after the three individuals went to a Hilltop Drive home at 1 a.m. to collect a $20 debt, Mastronardy said.

"The witnesses — an 18 year-old female and her 46 year-old male cousin went with Tyler Wallis to a home at 209 Hilltop Road to collect a twenty dollar debt at 1 a.m." Mastronardy said.

When they got there, the Hilltop resident, Louis Livesay, 19, came out of his home. "It was obviously dark and he came out with the bat," Mastronardy said. After a brief discussion Livesay struck Wallis in the head with a baseball bat as Wallis was pulling pepper spray from his shirt pocket, Mastronardy said.

"Wallis immediately fell to the ground and the cousins immediately drove him to Community Medical Center emergency room," Mastronardy said.  Wallis was treated for numerous facial fractures.

Livesay was charged with aggravated assault and held on $130,000 bail.

Investigating were Officer Michael Macdonald and Detective Glen Lucas.