Wayne man charged with brutal attack on Chinese tourist at Fairfield hotel

A Wayne man was arrested last week after punching out a Chinese tourist’s teeth at a local hotel, then brawling with officers as they attempted to take him into custody, authorities said.

Thomas Burns, 25, is accused of assaulting the 37-year-old victim as he smoked a cigarette in a hallway at the LaQuinta hotel on Two Bridges Road around 10:25 p.m. on Wednesday, Fairfield police said in a statement.

Burns allegedly punched the man, who was traveling with a Chinese tour group, repeatedly, and continued to assault him after he had fallen to the ground. Burns then fled in a black Infiniti, and police found the victim missing several teeth and suffering from other facial trauma.

Fairfield Deputy Chief Anthony Manna said surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts offered absolutely no evidence that any confrontation or conflict preceded the assault.

“From all indications thus far, this appears to have been an unprovoked attack with no reason found as to why it occurred,” he said in a statement.

Using the surveillance footage and hotel registration records, detectives were able to identify Burns as a suspect, and located him at around 5:45 a.m. in a room close to where the attack occurred.

After Burns opened the door, he struggled with officers as they attempted to arrest him, punching Officer R.J. Casendino in the ribs and Sgt. Christopher Oswald in the face, Manna said.

He is charged with one count of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and two counts of resisting arrest, and was ordered held on $50,000 bond.

The Chinese victim was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson to be treated for his injuries, which include a broken left orbital bone in his face. Casendino was also taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries sustained during the scuffle with Burns.