A Wareham man has been sentenced to state prison after he was convicted of beating a man with a baseball bat and assaulting a Wareham Police officer last March, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced.

On Jan. 19, a Plymouth County jury convicted Jose Madera, 38, of one count each of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer and threats against a police officer. Madera was found not guilty of one count of witness intimidation. On Jan. 23, Plymouth Superior Court Judge C.J. Moriarty sentenced Madera to serve five years in state prison to be followed by one year in the House of Correction.

On March 13, 2016, Wareham Police responded to a reported fight on Onset Avenue. Upon arrival, police observed the victim, an unidentified 44-year-old man, sitting and covered in blood, suffering from severe head trauma, including cuts to the top and left side of his head.

Wareham Police observed Madera strike the victim with a baseball bat, pause to drop the bat and then pick it back up to hit the victim again. The victim was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment and police placed Madera under arrest. While proceeding to the Wareham Police Department, Madera repeatedly kicked the cruiser windows and headbutted a police officer in the shoulder. Madera additionally made threats against the police officer, the officer’s wife and his children.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Brian Fahy and Daniel Jimenez and was investigated by Wareham Police Department.