Man who attacked woman with machete sentenced to prison

Man who attacked woman with machete sentenced to prison


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

VERNAL — A Fort Duchesne man who admitted attacking a woman with a machete inside his home has been ordered to serve up to 15 years in prison.

Stuart Wade Mojado pleaded guilty in February to aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony.

Mojado, 22, was sentenced Tuesday to serve one to 15 years in prison for the aggravated assault charge, and up to five years in prison for the drug distribution charge.

On Dec. 23, Uintah County sheriff's deputies were called to Uintah Basin Medical Center, where doctors were treating a woman for two lacerations to her left arm. Both cuts were so deep that the "bone was clearly visible," according to charging documents.

The woman told deputies she had been drinking at Mojado's house when she got into an argument with him and decided to leave. But when the woman got outside, she realized she'd forgotten her cellphone and went back inside to find it. The woman told deputies she encountered Mojado in the hallway and he cut her twice with a black machete before she could escape.


There was no evidence that she entered without authority and there was no evidence that she stole from him. He was interviewed afterward and he never mentioned that.

–Uintah County prosecutor Dan Bokovoy


Doctors told investigators the major artery in the woman's arm had been cut, as well as the tendons. They also said the only reason the woman didn't bleed to death was because it was extremely cold when she left Mojado's house, causing her to be mildly hypothermic, the charges state.

A subsequent search of Mojado's house turned up the machete, a 9mm handgun, about a pound of marijuana and materials typically used to package marijuana for sale, deputies said.

When he entered his guilty plea, Mojado admitted in court records that he "used a sharp weapon" to cut the woman. He also claimed that she entered his house "without authority" and had stolen $1,500 from him.

Uintah County prosecutor Dan Bokovoy disputed Mojado's claim.

"There was no evidence that she entered without authority and there was no evidence that she stole from him," Bokovoy said. "He was interviewed afterward and he never mentioned that."

Email: gliesik@deseretnews.com Twitter: GeoffLiesik

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Geoff Liesik

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast