MADERA COUNTY – Alfredo Morales, 32, of Hanford, was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence this week for felony battery on a domestic partner and for causing the victim great bodily injury, according to Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz.
The evidence presented at trial, showed that deputies were dispatched to a residence in a south county area near Highway 41, in November 2012, to investigate screams from a woman.
The arriving deputies contacted Morales at the door. Morales gave a rational explanation for the noise with his girlfriend who was then in the shower.
About an hour later, the Sheriff’s Department was summoned back because of more screaming. This time, when the deputy made contact he found the victim on the floor of the residence, near her cell phone, wincing in pain.
The deputy, and a paramedic summoned to the scene, observed multiple areas of bruising, including a bite mark on the right forearm, multiple burns to her hands and forearms. The victim, who was approximately half the size of the 6’1″, 330 poundMorales, also complained of pain to her back and leg and disclosed she had lost consciousness at some point in time.
Morales was convicted by a Madera County jury on July 30, 2013.
On Oct. 1, the Superior Court sentenced Morales to 14 years in state prison: 8 Years for the battery, 5 years for causing great bodily injury, and an additional year for having failed to remain free from prison custody for 5 years.
“Domestic violence is a true tragedy. Not only can it cause great physical harm, as was the case here, it causes extreme psychological damage to the assaulted victim, to the children who witness the events and it destroys the family unit,” remarked District Attorney Keitz.
