Fall River Man Who Assaulted His Pregnant Girlfriend Sent To Prison
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
August 8, 2017
A 49-year-old Fall River man was sentenced to serve three years in state prison last week after being convicted of assaulting and attempting to strangle his pregnant girlfriend in December 2015, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today.
Jose Delgado pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to a multi-count indictment charging him with aggravated assault and battery, strangulation of a pregnant woman, attempt to suborn perjury and intimidation of a witness.
On December 28, 2015 at 6 p.m., Somerset Police received a 911 call from the female victim, who reported a domestic assault in progress. The assault was occurring while she was traveling with the defendant in a motor vehicle from Fall River to a specific address in Somerset. During the call, dispatchers heard the victim repeatedly screaming, “get away from me” and “leave me alone”. It was clear from the telephone call that there was an ongoing physical assault. After a few moments, dispatchers lost contact with her.
When police arrived at the Somerset address, the victim physically upset and told police that the Defendant had repeatedly punched her in the face and strangled her by placing both hands around her neck. Police noted physical injury to her face and neck. She reported that the physical assault resulted from the defendant’s disbelief that the child she was carrying was his. She called 911 from the backseat of the Defendant’s car while he was driving. An independent witness, who was in the passenger seat during the incident, corroborated the victim’s statement.
The defendant fled as police were arriving but was arrested later that evening after returning to the scene.
On diverse dates and times between December 29, 2015 and January 2, 2016, the defendant, while held at the Bristol County House of Corrections, made calls urging family members to try to find out why the independent witness told police “everything”.
He also called the victim and warned her that he will most likely be held as a danger unless the victim comes to court and recants. In other conversations, the defendant tells the victim that he is “going to be in jail for a long time…I need you to try and do right thing and help me out, will you?” He further states that he “can’t tell you what to say because the phone is being recorded” and that “would hang me, but all that stuff in the police report did not happen, you understand, cause if that gets said, I’m done, I mean done!” “We’re talking years in jail here, not months, years.”
During a plea hearing before Judge Raffi Yessayan, Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Veenstra argued for a harsher four to six year state prison term. Judge Yessayan, however, sentenced the defendant to serve three years in state prison, to be follow by two years of supervised probation.
“This defendant has a history of committing violent crimes even at the age of 49. He even tried to prevent the domestic violence victim from coming to court,” District Attorney Quinn said. The victim and society need to be protected from this defendant.”
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576–cell