LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A New Jersey man was sentenced last Friday to four-and-a-half to nine years in state prison after he was convicted of aggravated assault, among other charges, in a 2021 road rage incident.
Aiven Rosario, 26, of East Orange, N.J., was sentenced by Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey Conrad in July after he was found guilty of smashing a victim's car window with a golf club and causing various injuries.
Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo prosecuted the case and presented evidence during the trial that Rosario followed the victim into a nearby parking lot after claiming that she cut off his and his mother's vehicles.
The victim and her boyfriend told Judge Conrad during the sentencing hearing that she suffers from various physical and mental ailments as well as work difficulties following the assault that occurred the night of March 6, 2021, in West Lampeter Township.
The golf club Rosario used to smash the victim's car broke, and ultimately struck the victim in the head during the assault; the strike left the victim with a traumatic brain injury, which they are still receiving treatment for.
"Rosario knows what he has to look forward to in life," Linardo said during the sentencing proceeding. "His sentence will have a finite beginning and end. [The victim] has been living a life of uncertain repercussions done at the hands of the defendant."
Linardo argued for a sentence of seven-and-a-half to 32 years to hold the defendant responsible, protect the Commonwealth and ensure the safety of society.
However, the defense counsel asked for a sentence of four to eight years.
Rosario used his opportunity to speak to apologize to the victim and say that he was acting out of fear.
"I don't think you did what you did out of fear," Judge Conrad responded. "I think you did what you did out of anger."
Along with his prison sentencing, Rosario must also pay $34,992 in restitution.
