A 33-year-old Dowagiac man who viciously head-butted and injured his 28-year-old wife over the 2017 Fourth of July weekend was found guilty of domestic violence by a Cass County jury Wednesday, according to the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office.

Andrew Solorzano, of Heather Hill Lane, Dowagiac, was convicted on the charge following a two-day trial in Cass County District Court, before Judge Stacey Rentfrow. Immediately following the verdict, Rentfrow sentenced Solorzano to six months of probation.

In a trial that began on Tuesday morning and concluded Wednesday afternoon, the jury heard from the victim, as well as two Cass County sheriff deputies who responded to the scene where the assault had occurred.

Testimony revealed that on July 2 leading into July 3, the defendant had asked his wife to drive from Chicago to his house in Dowagiac to discuss finances, and that when she arrived, he attacked her inside his house by twisting her wrist, punching her in the shoulders and head-butting her in the face.  She took refuge in a locked bathroom, where she stayed for more than an hour before she could escape from the house and make contact with police.

The evidence — including pictures of the victim’s bloody face and the bruises on her body, as well as a recording of the phone call that took place between the victim and the police — corroborated the victim’s testimony.

Prosecutor Victor Fitz said after the guilty verdict that “the defendant has very real anger and intimidation issues.  This verdict assures accountability.”

The victim, an immigrant from Turkey, wept on the witness stand as she relived what her husband had done to her that night.

The defendant testified his version of the events that night. He also called his friend and two of his cousins as witnesses.

During closing arguments mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Hubbert recounted the testimony of the victim and her description of the terror she faced while she was locked in the defendant’s bathroom.

Domestic violence carries a maximum penalty of up to 93 days in jail.