Man Hits Victim In Face With Hammer Repeatedly In Westchester: Here's His Sentence

A man will spend more than a decade in prison after attacking a victim with a brick and hammer in Westchester, causing them to need facial reconstruction surgery.

The attack happened in Yonkers on Riverdale Avenue.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps street view/Pixabay via Franz P. Sauerteig*

Ben Crnic

04/05/2023 10:30 a.m.

Yonkers resident Juan Rodriguez, age 38, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on Thursday, March 30 for attacking a man with a brick and hammer before robbing him in March 2021, according to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah.

On the day of the attack, March 1, 2021, around 3:45 p.m., Rodriguez hid behind a tree while the victim, who he knew, walked by him on the sidewalk on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers. He then approached the victim from behind and threw a brick at the back of his head, which caused him to fall to the ground.

Once the victim had fallen, Rodriguez then hit him in the face numerous times with a hammer, stole $30 from his hand, and ran away from the scene.

The attack was captured on surveillance video, which was shown during Rodriguez's trial.

After the attack, the victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he underwent facial reconstruction surgery. The victim also received permanent plates and screws in his face, as well as a mesh net to hold up his eye.

Additionally, the victim underwent another surgery to treat his injuries and still suffers from nerve damage, numbness, and headaches, and also has trouble opening his mouth and eating.

In a statement read in court, the victim said, "When I close my eyes, all I see is the hammer coming down."

"Just to think about it sends shivers down my spine... I wish I never had to go through this," he continued.

After an investigation into the attack, police arrested Rodriguez on April 14, 2021. He was found guilty of the following charges on Friday, Feb. 3:

First-degree robbery;
First-degree assault;
Two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
Second-degree assault.

In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez will also be required to serve five years of supervised release.

Rocah said Rodriguez's "lengthy" sentence would hold him "accountable for his malicious attack on a victim, whose life has been permanently altered by this traumatic attack.”

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