A New Jersey Catholic priest accused of stabbing a fellow cleric with a crucifix-adorned staff has been admitted to a pretrial intervention program.
The Rev. Frank Hreno can have the charges against him dismissed if he successfully completes the program.
Hreno's lawyer tells the Daily Record of Parsippany a judge in Morris County admitted Hreno to a one-year program of probation and counseling.
The 51-year-old was charged in April. Police say he scuffled with the Rev. Emeka Okwuosa, 37, at the Vocationist Fathers Retreat and Conference Center in Florham Park over a car Hreno had leased.
Okwuosa said Hreno stabbed him in the arm with the metal staff, causing a wound that required 29 stitches. Hreno said Okwuosa hurt his arm smashing it against a glass door.
