A Newark, New Jersey man was sentenced Tuesday to serve between three months and one day less than two years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery charges stemming from an August 2024 assault in Lehighton.

Jason Perez, 38, appeared before Carbon County Judge Steven R. Serfass for sentencing after entering a guilty plea in February to robbery-inflict threat of immediate bodily injury, a second-degree felony. Several other charges, including aggravated assault, theft by unlawful taking, strangulation, simple assault and harassment, against Perez were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The charges originated from an incident on Aug. 8, 2024, in the 100 block of South First Street in Lehighton. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Patrolman Joel Gulla of the Lehighton Borough Police Department, officers were dispatched to the scene around 10:10 a.m. for a report of an assault.

“The caller stated that a man was lying on the ground and that the assailant was observed running across the street,” the affidavit states.

When Gulla arrived on scene, he spoke with the victim, who described being attacked by an unknown Hispanic male.

The victim told police the man “had punched him in the face for no reason” and then “threw him to the ground and put him in a headlock and began choking him to the point he started to lose consciousness and thought he was going to die.”

The assault continued when the attacker “got up and kicked him in the chest and stated ‘your stuff is mine’ and grabbed his iPhone 11 Pro valued at $1,000 and ran from the scene,” according to the affidavit.

As the victim pointed out where the assailant had fled, officers observed a man pacing inside an apartment building behind curtains.

When police approached the building, “the front door opened and a Hispanic man exited and began yelling, saying that the worked for the CIA and that they weren’t his kind,” the affidavit states.

The victim identified the man as his attacker, and the suspect, later identified as Perez, “became uncooperative and refused commands.”

After being advised several times to place his hands behind his back, Perez eventually “reached into his front pocket and handed Gulla a cellphone that the victim identified as his.”

Perez was identified through a South Carolina driver’s license found in his possession and was taken into custody. Back at the police station, emergency medical services treated the victim’s injuries.

Officer Gulla noted observing the victim “to have a bloody mouth, ear and to have extreme redness around his neck, which was consistent with his version of events.”

When Gulla attempted to question Perez and read him his Miranda warnings, the defendant “became irrational and talked over him” and stated “go ahead and place me in jail.”

Perez must undergo a comprehensive drug and alcohol evaluation and follow all recommended treatment within 60 days, submit to a blood sample at the Carbon County Correctional Facility, complete 100 hours of community service, and have no contact with the victim.