WARNING: DETAILS BELOW COULD BE TRIGGERING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
An island man arraigned in Nantucket District Court last month for beating an individual with an aluminum/metal rod and a cell phone cord pleaded guilty to several charges in Nantucket District Court on Monday.
Francisco Veras, 24, of Nantucket, pleaded guilty to two Nov. 6 charges of assault and battery on a family/household member and two charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was ordered to two and a half years in the Barnstable House of Corrections. He will serve one year in prison, with the remaining balance suspended on the condition he complete one and a half years of probation.
Veras was ordered to complete a batterers program and undergo a mental health evaluation. He will have to comply with any treatment as a result of the evaluation. He is required to stay away at least 100 yards and have no contact with the victim in this case while complying with the active restraining order against him. He will also be required to pay a $90 victim-witness fee and $65 per month in probation fees once he is released from jail.
Charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and violating an abuse prevention order stemming from the same incident were dismissed.
According to the statement of facts provided by the court, Nantucket police officer Robert Shield arrived at a residence at 9:15 p.m. on Nov. 6 for a report of a domestic incident occurring earlier that night. The victim in the case told Shield that they were physically attacked throughout the day by Veras. To protect the victim’s identity in this story, we will refer to him/her as “victim.”
Shield said the victim told him that on the morning of November 6, Veras and victim got in a verbal argument. Veras proceeded to push victim to the ground, get on top of victim, and place his forearm on victim’s neck/throat. The victim said they could no longer breathe at one point, their vision began to fade, and victim felt as if he/she was going to die.
Veras went on to hit the victim several more times throughout the day with items such as an aluminum/metal pole and a cell phone cord. Veras also struck the victim several times with a closed fist, knocking the person to the ground on multiple instances.
The victim currently has an active restraining order against Veras where he is ordered not to assault, threaten, abuse, harass, follow, interfere with, or stalk the victim. Veras has a criminal history of domestic violence. Shield added that he observed several bruises and wounds on the victim that were consistent with victim’s statements.
