A witness said Martin was calling the victim a “faggot” and trying to get him to fight, spitting in his face, the prosecutor said.
SPRINGFIELD – A 22-year-old Ludlow man was sentenced Friday after admitting to punching a 57-year-old man causing a serious head injury requiring surgery and an 11-day hospitalization.
Steven Martin was sentenced to 18 months in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow on a charge of assault and battery.
That will be followed by three years probation on a charge of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury.
As a condition of his probation, Hampden Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page said Martin must have no contact with the victim or any member of his immediate family.
Assistant District Attorney Richard B. Morse said Ludlow police got a call May 9, 2011, at about 5 p.m. that a young man was attacking an older man. The victim was unconscious for over five minutes, Morse said.
He said the victim was walking his dog on State Street in Ludlow when he encountered Martin. A witness said Martin was calling the victim a “faggot” and trying to get him to fight, spitting in his face.
Martin ultimately punched the victim in his face and he fell to the ground hitting his head, Morse said.
There was a one inch laceration in the head and a closed skull fracture. On May 17 surgery was performed to remove part of the skull and part of the brain.
Another surgery was performed in May to reattach the skull piece.
Morse read an impact statement from the victim, who was in the courtroom with his ex-wife, who has been caring for him since the surgery along with their children.
The man said he lost his job because of his injury, but more than that, he almost died.
“I was beaten up for no reason,” the man wrote. He said he needed to learn to walk, talk and feed himself again. He has nightmares all the time, forgets things, has dizzy spells, is nervous and anxious and “scared as hell” something like this will happen to me again.
Morse, who said the victim doesn’t remember the events leading up to the punch, said he senses the man was outspoken about the activity of some youths in the neighborhood. He said witnesses said Martin, who is much larger than the victim, was pursuing the victim.
Defense lawyer James J. Bregianes told Page that Martin is seriously sorry for the damage he has done to the victim and his family.