Richmond, TX – James
Augustine Gomez was sentenced to 10 years in prison recently after a jury found
him guilty of assaulting his girlfriend with a hatchet. The 38-year-old Sugar Land man elected for
458th District Court Judge Robert Rolnick to decide his punishment
for the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
According
to lead prosecutor Melanie Rozbicki, the victim’s brother called 911 on
November 4, 2020 to report that his sister said her live-in boyfriend, James
Augustine Gomez, struck her in the face with a hatchet. The victim testified during the trial that she
and Gomez were circling around the room of their apartment as he accused her of
cheating, hatchet in hand, before lunging and striking her with it. The woman
stated that she turned her face away, resulting in a cut on her cheek, before
wrestling the hatchet out of the defendant’s hands. She told the jury that the defendant
had broken her phone with a hammer and would not let her seek medical
attention, so she liquid-bandaged her cheek together. The victim was able to escape
days later when the defendant left her and their two infant children in the car
and she drove to the safety of her family’s house outside of Texas.
“Gomez
told his victim that she would remember that scar for the rest of her life,”
said Rozbicki,” but he has ten years in prison to remember what he did to
her. And he won’t forget that.”
Aggravated
Assault with a Deadly Weapon in this case is a first-degree felony punishable
by 5 to 99 years, or life, in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Gomez had a prior felony conviction and was
not probation eligible. He will have to
serve at least half of his sentence before eligible for parole.
Fort
Bend County has resources to support victims and survivors of domestic
violence. The number to the Fort Bend
County Women’s Center Crisis Hotline is (281) 342-HELP (4357) and the toll free
number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. If you or somebody you know is a victim of
domestic violence, they are not alone and they do not need to suffer in
silence.
James Augustine Gomez
