It is not unusual for a court to hear testimony in a particular case where the defendant uses the excuse of being addicted to drugs in hopes that the judge will sentence them to substance abuse classes and not jail. However, a Massachusetts courtroom took a bizarre turn earlier this week when a woman told the judge that her boyfriend beat the living snot out of her because he wasn’t stoned on marijuana.
The woman, whose name has not be released, appeared before a Springfield District Court to obtain a restraining order against the father of her two children, 27-year-old Angel Sanchez. She testified that Sanchez had opened up a can of whoop ass on her in front of their 5-year-old son on Sunday because he had run out of weed, and that always made him crazy.
“He was off the drugs,” she told the judge, adding that Sanchez has a tendency to get more aggressive when he is not high. “When he uses it, he’s fine,” she said.
When it was time for Sanchez to face the judge, he entered a plea of not guilty on the domestic assault and battery charge. However, Judge Patricia T. Poehler ordered that he be held on $10,000 bail, which typically means the defendant must produce 10 percent of the amount in cash before being released. In addition, the judge granted the restraining order to Sanchez’s female punching bag, ordering him to stay away from her for one year.
“I don’t have the money, your honor; she’s the only person that I have in my life,” Sanchez said solemnly while being escorted by officers from the courtroom.
Apparently, weed is really freaking scarce in Massachusetts because this is not the first restraining order issued against Sanchez. In fact, the latest protective order makes the fifth filed against him, which is only somewhat odd considering that the same woman has initiated all of the orders. Courtroom testimony indicates that every time Sanchez hits a dry patch with his pot dealer, he unleashes into a fit of rage against his baby’s momma that has caused him to do things like choke, punch and even threaten to dislocate her neck.
Assistant District Attorney Katherine Anne Johnston argued that Sanchez does not need marijuana to be a better family man, but maybe some time in jail would help. The DA pointed out to the judge that when the woman told Sanchez she was calling the police, he told her, “Go ahead…I’ll finish what I started when I get out of jail,” according to a written complaint.
However, Sanchez’s defense lawyer, Joseph A. Smith III, says the woman fabricated the whole story because there is not a mark on her. “I’ve been punched in the face before, your honor,” said Smith, adding that when it comes to getting your ass kicked “scratching and bruising is there to be seen.”
This situation calls to mind a recent study that finds men and women who smoke weed together are less susceptible to the perils of domestic violence. Perhaps Sanchez and his old lady should try heroin.
Mike Adams writes for stoners and smut enthusiasts in High Times, Playboy’s The Smoking Jacket and Hustler Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @adamssoup and on Facebook/mikeadams73.