Fresh out of jail, NJ ex-con charged with attempting to kill dog walker

HILLSBOROUGH – A 23-year-old township resident has been charged with attempted murder of a victim who was stabbed while walking a dog in their neighborhood.

The latest attack came two months after the suspect was released from jail for stabbing someone in a fight.

Safi N. Hill stabbed the adult man without provocation at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday in the area of 9th Street and Clawson Avenue, one street away from Equator Avenue, where Hill lives, officials said.

Just over a year ago, on April 29, 2021, Hill – at the time a resident of Dominicus Drive in Belle Mead – stabbed a man multiple times in a late-afternoon fight on that street in Montgomery Township. He was found by police hiding in the basement of a nearby home.

For that incident, Hill was charged with five counts, including second-degree aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to three counts last August and was sentenced to 180 days in county jail. He completed his term and was released in early March.

In Wednesday’s case, the victim initially reported being punched in the back by an assailant but Hillsborough police officers responding to the scene determined that the victim was bleeding from suspected stab wounds on his back. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Hill was taken into custody Wednesday. The charges were announced Friday by law enforcement officials including Acting Somerset County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart and Police Chief Mike McMahon.

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Hill has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, third-degree hindering apprehension and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was being held at the Somerset County Jail pending a bail detention hearing.

Michael Symons is the Statehouse bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com

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