Man charged in Christmas Eve slashing

A Hempstead man who Nassau County police say intentionally slashed the face of another man on Christmas Eve faces a first-degree assault charge, First Squad detectives said.

Police on Wednesday arrested Gerber Cruz, 32, in the slashing incident on Jerusalem Avenue in Uniondale.

Detectives said that Cruz, of 299 Jackson Ave., "intentionally slashed" a man, 31, using "a large razor or knife blade" and cut him from his right ear to his mouth.

The man was treated for his injuries at a hospital and released, police said in a news release.

Police did not provide a reason or motive in the slashing incident.

Cruz also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and was ordered held on $500 cash bail at his arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead, a spokesman for the district attorney's office said.