A San Angelo man has been sentenced to jail time after striking a man with an axe or hatchet after a bar altercation in March 2022, according to court documents.
According to court documents, the victim and his friends met at Fiddlestrings Bar and Patio on March 10, 2022.
Fabian Mejia, the defendant, and his brother were also at the bar and a verbal altercation between Mejia and the victim began, lasting for about 45 minutes.
Mejia and his brother were in their vehicle about to leave when the it stopped. The victim’s group was also in the parking lot.
“The defendant got out of his vehicle and bull-rushed the victim with an axe or a hatchet in hand,” the document stated. “The victim’s friends intervened, but the defendant was eventually able to strike the victim in the back of the head, causing a severe laceration, which fractured the victim’s skull. The victim was rushed into emergency surgery that night and would spend approximately six months recovering from the physical injuries he sustained.”
Over a year later on March 24, 2023, a jury found 22-year-old Mejia guilty for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Judge Jay Weatherby imposed a sentence of 11 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.”The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank Detective Chase Hill and all officers with the San Angelo Police Department involved in this case,” the District Attorney’s office stated. “Their work and careful investigation were invaluable to the outcome today. Additionally, we want to thank the victim and the other civilian witnesses for their testimony to help bring the defendant to justice. We would also like to thank the jurors, who listened to all the evidence, carefully deliberated, and returned a guilty verdict. Finally we want to thank Judge Weatherby for his discernment and punishment for this violent offender. The District Attorney’s Office hopes that this guilty verdict and sentence will deter other individuals from committing this type of random, potentially deadly violence.”