A 55-year-old Jamaica Plain man is facing charges after Somerville police say he struck another man in the head with a steel broom shaft during a heated argument at Statue Park in Davis Square earlier this month, leaving the victim with a deep gash and a trip to the hospital. Samuel Bathalemo Valera was arrested at the scene and now faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery under the provision covering offenses against a person aged 60 or older or a person with a disability.
According to News Link Live, Somerville police officers Dante DiFronzo and Jose Ramirez responded to Statue Park at 30 Davis Square around 11:54 a.m. on September 15 after a report of an injured person. Officers found the victim with a deep laceration to the left side of his head; he told police that a man with white hair, a black mustache, a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants had struck him with a gray steel broom shaft. Difronzo requested that Ramirez notify Somerville dispatch and call in Cataldo EMS, and he then identified the suspect as Samuel Valera, who was sitting on a nearby bench.
Per the arrest narrative described by the outlet, the confrontation began after the victim, who said he had recently broken up with his girlfriend and was devastated by the split, got into a heated verbal dispute with Valera regarding the ex-girlfriend. The two men reportedly exchanged punches, during which a vodka bottle in the victim's backpack dislodged and shattered on the ground. Police say that as the victim retreated, Valera struck him on the head with the steel broom shaft, knocking him down, and the victim then fled the area in fear for his safety. Cataldo EMS later transported him to Cambridge City Hospital for treatment.
Conflicting Accounts of Who Struck First
Valera gave police a different version of events. He said he had simply asked the victim about the girlfriend, and that the victim became enraged and pushed him first, prompting him to defend himself. In a detail drawn from the official Somerville Police Department arrest narrative, Valera claimed he saw the victim bend down and pick up something silver that looked like a screwdriver, and that he only used the broom to strike the victim's head once the man stood back up. The narrative captures a direct dispute between the two men over who escalated the encounter first, with police documenting both accounts without resolving which is accurate.
Officer A. Slattery transported Valera from Statue Park to Somerville police headquarters, where he was formally booked and processed by Lieutenant Eli Kim. Valera was then charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery under the provision covering offenses against a person aged 60 or older or a person with a disability.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 15A, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison or up to 2.5 years in a house of correction, along with fines of up to $5,000, according to the statute cited on Mass.gov. In this case, police say Valera used a broom shaft to strike the victim.
The second charge is under Chapter 265, Section 13K, which covers assault and battery against a person aged 60 or older or a person with a disability.
A Park Caught Between Renewal and Recurring Violence
The attack landed more than a month after the City of Somerville announced plans for a “summer glow up” of Davis Square, including a ribbon-cutting planned for August 21, a new art piece at Statue Park, and activation of one Davis Square Slip Lane as a community space, according to the City of Somerville.
Statue Park has drawn violent incidents before. In October 2024, bystanders formed a human shield to protect a woman from a man wielding an ax, an episode that led to that suspect's arrest for chasing people through the Davis Square park, as reported by Cambridge Day.
Cataldo EMS transported the victim to Cambridge City Hospital for treatment.
