STAMFORD -- A three-year-old dispute over a $150 debt erupted on the West Side late Wednesday night as an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant smashed a baseball bat into a man's head, nearly killing him.
Rodolfo Calate-Morente, of 48 Aberdeen St., was charged with first-degree assault and may face more serious charges if the victim dies. The victim, identified by a witness as Oscar Hernandez, remains in critical condition at Stamford Hospital after suffering a blood clot to the brain.
Stamford Police Lt. Diedrich Hohn said the man is in "very, very serious condition" and at one point he lost all vital signs and had to be stabilized by hospital staff.
Hernandez had been harassing Calate-Morente and his wife Mirza Cortez "for an extended period of time" at their West Side home, according to police. Hohn said Hernandez was struck once in the head at Calate-Morente's home.
Victor Biancardi, Jr., an attorney representing Calate-Morente said Cortez did have a protective order to keep Hernandez away, but it had expired. During an arraignment hearing in state Superior Court in Stamford Thursday, Biancardi told Judge Anthony Truglia that the couple did not want to go to police because they were undocumented immigrants.
Biancardi said just before the man was struck with the bat shortly before 10:30 p.m., he had come to Calate-Morente and Cortez' home and was pounding and kicking the door.
"My client was defending his wife and his family against this crazed individual," Biancardi said. "It was very hot. This man kept bothering him and he took matters into his own hands."
Through a friend who speaks English, Cortez said Hernandez used to follow her around. Cortez did acknowledge that she owed Hernandez $150.
Truglia ordered Calate-Morente held on $500,000 bond. Calate-Morente has been in the U.S. for 13 years and has never been arrested, according to court records.
Calate-Morente had his case transferred to the Part A docket where the most serious cases in the area are decided. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 1.
Assistant State's Attorney, Michelle Manning said that the victim has been put on a ventilator and the state's attorneys office intend to ratchet up the charges depending upon the man's status.
"At the end, my client could not take the abuse and took matters into his own hands," Biancardi said outside court.
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