Feb. 10, 2018
For immediate release
Contact: Paul Jarvey (508) 735-2981
FITCHBURG — A Fitchburg man was sentenced to four years in jail on Friday after a Fitchburg District Court jury found him guilty of pistol whipping his former girlfriend and trying to drown her in her bathtub, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
Hector Pereira, who was 35 at the time of the attack on Oct. 13, 2016 in Fitchburg, was found guilty of assault and battery on a family/household member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (handgun), carrying a firearm without a license, suffocation and assault with a dangerous weapon (handgun).
Mr. Pereira confronted his former girlfriend and a male, whom she was giving a ride to work, in a vehicle in front of her home. He returned with a handgun and struck the woman on the side of the face with it. He then went into her home where he continued to attack her and tried to drown her in the bathtub. The man who was with her escaped the vehicle and ran to a nearby business to call police.
Mr. Pereira was arrested two days later in Houston, Texas, and a handgun was found in the vehicle along with several of the woman’s credit cards.
Mr. Early thanked the jury for its verdict and careful deliberation. He also praised Assistant District Attorney Michael Shannon for his presentation of the case and the Fitchburg and Houston police departments for their investigation. Leominster Police and the State Police ballistics lab also contributed to the investigation.