Martha S. Martillo
On April 21st, 2025, at approximately 4:52AM, members of the Guttenberg Police Department’s
Patrol Division responded to a residence on Jackson Street after receiving a report of a fight. Immediately
upon their arrival, officers heard loud yelling coming from inside of the apartment. During their on-scene
investigation, officers observed the apartment in disarray, with food spilled and smeared on some of the
walls. Additionally, they uncovered that 19-year-old Martha S. Martillo of Guttenberg, NJ, was upset with
some of the individuals present in the apartment because she wanted her cellphone and her sweater back.
While officers were speaking with the caller, Ms. Martillo continued screaming and was restrained in
handcuffs for the duration of the investigation in order to prevent more violence. As the result of her
behavior, officers summoned the assistance of North Bergen’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to
evaluate Ms. Martillo. While waiting for EMS to arrive, Ms. Martillo continued behaving erratically,
screaming that she wanted her cellphone. Officers had recovered her cellphone and attempted to calm her
down without success. Moments later, North Bergen EMS arrived on the scene and officers attempted to
guide Ms. Martillo down a staircase for her evaluation. Ms. Martillo continued to behave erratically and
refused to cooperate. Officers had to resort to picking her up and carrying her down the flight of stairs in
order to try and avoid her combative behavior. While carrying her down the flight of stairs, Ms. Martillo was
kicking and screaming, during which she kicked one of the responding officers with her foot. Once outside,
Ms. Martillo was seated on the sidewalk while waiting for the EMS stretcher to be set up. When it was time
to seat her on the stretcher, Ms. Martillo again became agitated and did not cooperate with EMT and officer
efforts to calm her down. Officers had to pick her up again to seat her on the stretcher. While attempting to
re-adjust her handcuffs, Ms. Martillo spit in one of the responding officer’s eyes. When asked why she spit on
him, she stated she needed to spit. As one of North Bergen’s EMTs was attempting to assist our officers, Ms.
Martillo bit his forearm. During the struggle, Ms. Martillo also bit another responding officer on her leg.
After a significant struggle to get Ms. Martillo into the ambulance, responding officers and EMTs
successfully transported Ms. Martillo to a local hospital for a medical evaluation. Once at a local hospital,
Ms. Martillo again assaulted one of the responding officers who was present in the emergency room. As the
result of her actions, Ms. Martillo was charged with throwing bodily fluid at law enforcement causing bodily
injury [2C:12-13], two (2) counts of throwing bodily fluid at law enforcement [2C:12-13], aggravated assault
on a law enforcement officer causing bodily injury [2C:12-1B(5)(A)], two (2) counts of aggravated assault on a
law enforcement officer [2C:12-1B(5)(A)], aggravated assault on EMS personnel causing bodily injury [2C:12-
1B(5)(C)], resisting arrest [2C:29-2A(3)(A)], and disorderly conduct [2C:33-2A(1)]. The charges filed were
submitted on a complaint warrant and Ms. Martillo will be lodged in the Hudson County Correctional
Center after she is medically cleared for incarceration.
Message from Chief Frank Pelaez: I would like to commend the efforts of my officers and the EMTs from
North Bergen’s Emergency Medical Services. Everyday, our first responders are exposed to many different
forms of crisis that can subsequently lead to them suffering from various injuries or being exposed to
communicable diseases. This is a perfect example of the difficult situations our first responders encounter and
unfortunately in this case, some of my officers and an EMT were injured after being assaulted by Ms.
Martillo. I wish our first responders a speedy recovery and am eager for them to return and continue to serve
our residents.
If anyone has any information pertaining to this incident, they are encouraged to contact the
Guttenberg Police Department at 201-868-3300 or email:
1. Lt. Steven Diaz sdiaz@guttenbergpolice.org
2. Det. Sgt. Marcin Rysiec mrysiec@guttenbergpolice.org
The charges above are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless,
and until, proven guilty in a court of law.
