Man Who Stabbed Girlfriend’s Father and Dog off to Prison

A man who stabbed his girlfriend’s father and her dog after punching her in the face is heading to prison.

Leonardo Medina, 28, of Brockton last week pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery on a family or household member, one count of animal cruelty, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to serve two to three years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn announced.

In December of 2018, Medina walked into his girlfriend’s Taunton home and started punching her in the face, Quinn's office said in a media release. When she asked him what he was doing, he swore at her and told her to shut up. The victim screamed for her father, who was sleeping in a downstairs bedroom. When the father came upstairs, the defendant punched him in the face and stabbed the father in the side of his stomach with a kitchen knife. Medina also stabbed the family dog, an older Labrador retriever, in the leg.

When police arrived, they had to deploy tasers to place Medina under arrest.

Police said the woman had swelling on her face and a bloody lip. The father was transported to Morton Hospital in Taunton and treated for his stab wound. The dog did not require hospitalization and recovered.

"The defendant went on a violent rampage that included assaulting the two victims and stabbing their dog.  Fortunately. no one was seriously injured.  The defendant was held accountable for his violent behavior.  He will be on supervised release for an additional two years and has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation," District Attorney Quinn said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Lopes. The state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Thomas Perrino.

Upon his release from prison, Medina will be placed on supervised probation with conditions including the successful completion of batterers counseling and an anger management program. The defendant must not come within 1,000 feet of the victims' residence and make no direct or indirect contact with either victim.