Fall victim critical, two men facing charges

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Matthew Chandler, 20, left, and Kyle Gonzalez, 20, both of Naugatuck, have been charged in connection with an assault linked to an incident in which a 24-year-old man fell from a four-story window in a Naugatuck apartment. –CONTRIBUTED

NAUGATUCK — The victim of a four-story fall from the window of a multi-family apartment building remains in critical condition Friday morning as police arrested two borough men on assault charges in connection with the incident.

Police received an anonymous call at 2:27 a.m. on Wednesday reporting someone had fallen out of a window at 8 Pond St., a four-story, multi-family apartment building. When police arrived they found Salomon Martinez, 24, of Stratford lying on the sidewalk next to the building with serious head and body injuries. He was lying under a fourth floor window that was shattered.

Martinez was taken to Waterbury Hospital where, as of Friday morning, he was in critical condition and on life support.

Naugatuck detectives with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police Major Crime unit have been investigating the incident. On Thursday police charged Matthew Chandler, 20, and Kyle Gonzalez, 20, both of Naugatuck, with assault in the first degree and conspiracy at assault in the first degree. The men do not live at the Pond Street building.

The charges are related to what happened to Martinez, Naugatuck police spokesman Bryan Cammarata said. He said police are still trying to determine whether Martinez was pushed or fell on his own from the window.

“We haven’t ruled anything out,” he said. “As far as how he actually went out the window is something we have not definitely determined yet, at this point.”

Gonzalez was also charged Wednesday with assault in the second degree in connection with a separate assault that occurred in the same apartment that Martinez fell from, police said.

The victim, a 24-year-old man, in this assault suffered severe swelling to the left side of his face due to the assault but was not hospitalized, Cammarata said. The man, who was not identified, didn’t live in the building, Cammarata said.

Police tape is tied across the stairs leading to the multi-family home at 8 Pond St. in Naugatuck Wednesday afternoon. Police are investigating the events that led to the fall of a 24-year-old Martin Salomon of Stratford from the fourth floor of the building. –FILE PHOTO

Gonzalez was arraigned Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court on the second-degree assault charge. He’s being held on a $200,000 bond. Gonzalez and Chandler are expected to be arraigned Friday on the charges filed Thursday.

Police are still investigating what happened in the apartment and have not released any further details.

Cammarata said the biggest issue for police is that a lot of people went in and out of the apartment that night and detectives are working to talk to those people and the residents of the apartment to piece together what occurred.

The Waterbury Republican American reported that a fight involving multiple people, including Gonzalez, Chandler and Martinez, broke out following a game of beer pong.

Cammarata said there could be more arrests made related to this case as police continue their investigation. If Martinez dies, he said, Gonzalez and Chandler will be facing harsher charges.

“The charges would absolutely be more severe if that happens,” Cammarata said.