Two men sentenced in case of 2023 stabbing in Orange, pursuit

Defense attorney Chris Borzumato, left, stands near his client, Ali Ayala, who on Friday pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to one count of assault and battery in relation to a 2023 incident in which a man was stabbed in Orange before the assailants led police on a high-speed chase that ended in Belchertown. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI
Published: 04-21-2025 12:12 PM
Modified: 04-24-2025 3:14 PM |
GREENFIELD — Two men who were involved in a 2023 incident in which a man was stabbed in Orange before the assailants led police on a high-speed chase that ended in Belchertown were sentenced on Friday.
Ali Ayala, 24, of Springfield, appeared in Franklin County Superior Court to plead guilty to one count of assault and battery and was sentenced to 2½ years. Ayala will receive 249 days of credit for time he has been incarcerated.
Earlier on Friday, co-defendant Alex Santana, of Chicopee, was sentenced to two years in the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction in Greenfield after a jury found him guilty of assault and battery and of mistreatment of a police dog. The trial had started on Monday. Santana, who was represented by defense attorney Michael Sheridan, was found not guilty on single counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and cruelty to animals.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas explained the victim in this case called 911 in Orange in the early hours of March 20, 2023, while fleeing from assailants who had assaulted and tried to kill him. Those assailants were later identified as Ayala, Santana and Juan Rodriguez.
Officers responded and were assessing the victim’s condition when a minivan occupied by the victim’s assailants sped by. Officers reportedly noticed Ayala driving the minivan and pursued it in their cruisers after the victim said his assailants were in the vehicle.
“So Mr. Ali Ayala enables the getaway,” Thomas told Judge John Agostini.
The minivan eventually crashed into a fence in Belchertown and the three men fled but were apprehended. It was later determined that Rodriguez replaced Ayala in the driver’s seat at some point during the pursuit.
An investigation revealed that the three defendants were smoking marijuana and socializing with the victim when longstanding animosity between Santana and the victim boiled over. Santana struck the man in the back of the head with the butt of a knife before the man escaped and called 911.
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Earlier this month, Rodriguez, 34, of Southbridge, was sentenced to time served and two years’ probation after pleading guilty to two counts of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and single counts of accessory after the fact and leaving the scene of property damage.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpo li@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.