BOSTON, March 25, 2016—A Chelsea man has been sentenced to prison after he was convicted today of attacking a bouncer with a machete in 2014, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury deliberated for one day before convicting JOSE DAVID BENITEZ (D.O.B. 11/29/88) this morning of mayhem and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  Judge Elizabeth Fahey sentenced Benitez to 10 to 12 years in prison and a consecutive probationary term of 20 years.  Assistant District Attorney Montez Haywood of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit had recommended a term of 14 to 15 years in prison followed by five years of probation.

Haywood presented evidence and testimony to prove that on the night of Nov. 23, 2014, Benitez attempted to enter El-Corral bar in Chelsea at approximately 11:30 p.m. but was denied entrance by a bouncer.  Surveillance video captured Benitez as he began to walk away but then pull a machete from his pants and charge at the bouncer.  The victim raised his left arm to protect himself and was struck by the machete just below the wrist.  He was able to dive into the bar and close the door behind him.

“The victim’s hand was nearly severed,” Conley said. “But had he not raised his arm to protect himself, his injuries could have been much worse – and possibly fatal.”

Through the course of their investigation, Chelsea Police spoke with people known to Benitez who each identified him as the assailant in surveillance images capturing the attack.

Police learned that Benitez had arranged to pick up his final paycheck from his employer on Dec. 3, 2014, before taking what he told his employer would be a leave of absence.  Officers were prepared to arrest him at his Boston workplace on that date, but Benitez never appeared.  He fled to Loudoun County, Virginia, where he was arrested by U.S. Marshals less than two weeks later on Dec. 14.

Jennifer Sears and Alyssa Nelson-Kamalu were the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocates. Benitez was represented by David Grimaldi.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.