Attempted Murder Fugitive Caught Hiding in Deli Bathroom

A Massachusetts man wanted for attempted murder and kidnapping following an incident at the Park View Inn in Salem last weekend was arrested Thursday hiding in the bathroom of a deli in New York City.

According to a press release, Walton Valentin, 29, of 41 Hardy St., Methuen, MA was arrested Thursday afternoon in the Bronx section of New York City by members of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section.

Massachusetts state troopers, along with members of the New York City Police Department's fugitive unit, found Valentin hiding in the bathroom of a deli on Anderson Avenue in the Bronx.

Valentin had been the subject of an intensive manhunt by Massachusetts State Police and police in Salem and Lawrence, Andover and Methuen, MA.

Around 7:09 p.m. on Nov. 9, Salem Police responded to the Park View Inn on South Broadway for a report of a domestic disturbance with a male armed with a handgun. The suspect – Valentin – had fled prior to police arrival by stealing the victim's minivan, and officers found the female victim suffering from several severe head injuries. 

The victim told police the incident started in Lawrence, MA when Valentin jumped into her car and held a gun to her stomach and began threatening to kill her family back in the Dominican Republic. The victim reported that once they were in the room, Valentin pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. He then choked her and struck her repeatedly over the head with the gun. 

Following his arrest on Thursday, Valentin was transported to a New York Police Department station in the Bronx for booking. He will be held pending rending proceedings in the New York judicial system. Once rendited, he will face charges in New Hampshire in connection with his assault of the woman last weekend, to include attempted murder and aggravated assault. He will also face charges in Massachusetts in connection with assaults of the same woman in October, to include multiple counts of assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, unlawful carrying of a firearm, violation of protective order, and threats to commit a crime, as well as a single home invasion count.