Pima County Superior Court Judge Edgar Acuña sentenced Cirilo Pedro Macias Jr., 21, to 14 years in prison Monday for the baseball bat attack on Francisco Jacques on July 19 that left Jacques in a permanent vegetative state, according to court documents.
A photograph of the victim, permanently disabled and in a coma, was shown to the courtroom at Macias’ sentencing. Macias did not look at it.
Acuña, in determining the length of the sentence, cited the jury’s findings of aggravating circumstances that Jacques, then 22, suffered physical, emotional and financial harm from the attack.
The judge also found mitigating circumstances, including Macias’ lack of a prior felony conviction, family support and his potential to be rehabilitated.
Macias was indicted on charges of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or instrument and aggravated assault.
Acuña sentenced him to 10 years on the aggravated assault conviction, 10 years on the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon conviction and 14 years in prison on the attempted second-degree murder conviction. The sentences will run concurrently and Macias can apply for parole after serving 85 percent of the 14 years, almost 12 years.
He will get credit for 289 days in jail awaiting trial and sentencing.
Macias worked at a Wal-Mart as an “unloader,” according to court documents.
Jacques managed a restaurant at the time of the incident, according to Pima County prosecutor Jonathan Mosher.
Mosher said Jacques had been dating a co-worker over the July 4 holiday. The prosecutor said Macias was interested in her, too.
On the night of the attack, Jacques and the woman were standing outside her house when Macias and three of his friends approached the couple, according to court documents.
“Without any justification,” the prosecutor said in the documents, Macias “clubbed” Jacques in the head and face with a metal baseball bat “at least four times.”
Macias told Acuña at his sentencing hearing Monday he was simply concerned for the woman’s safety and that’s why he went to her house.
Jacques’ surgeon said his prognosis was “extremely poor for life” if he survived the attack and the risks “extremely high for deficits,” court documents state.
Macias told police he did not remember hitting Jacques with the bat. Several witnesses to the attack testified in Macias’ trial that the attack was unprovoked.
Macias’ mother, Gloria Macias, wept as she implored Acuña to show Macias mercy because he was sorry for the attack and accepted responsibility for it.
“He’s a good kid. He’s never gotten into trouble. He turned out well,” she told the judge.
Jacques’ mother, father and two sisters asked the judge for the maximum sentence of 21 years.