Man convicted in broken bottle assault on woman

BRIDGEPORT — A New Haven man faces up to 30 years behind bars after a jury convicted of stabbing a woman in the head repeatedly with a broken beer bottle in a moving car before kicking her out of the vehicle onto the side of Interstate 95.

The six-person jury deliberated the case of 57year-old Marvin Owens for about two hours Friday at the Bridgeport Judicial District Courthouse before convicting him on charges of first-degree assault, violation of a protective order, and first-degree unlawful restraint.

During the five-day trial, the victim took the stand to recount the harrowing incident, withstanding crossexamination by Owens, who represented himself in the case and also took the stand in his own defense.

“Why are you asking me that, Marvin?” the woman said when challenged by Owens. “You were there. Do your time like a man.”

A Yale-New Haven Hospital emergency room physician testified that the woman's facial injuries, which required more than 150 stitches, were the worst he had seen in 19 years on the job.

Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Michael DeJoseph prosecuted the trial, which also included testimony from police experts that blood-like stains from the vehicle tested positive for the victim's DNA.

“The jury worked hard to reach the appropriate verdicts,” DeJoseph said.

Attorney Daniel Ford, who served as standby counsel to answer legal questions from Owens during the trial, declined to comment.

Owens, who has an extensive record of criminal convictions dating to the early 1990s, is scheduled to return to the Bridgeport Judicial District Courthouse for sentencing in the case June 7 before Judge Earl Richards.

He also faces charges in several other cases, including prior domestic incidents involving the same victim and felony charges related to a chase two days after the assault during which a Deputy U.S. Marshal shot at the tires of a box truck driven by Owens, who was eventually apprehended after crashing in Bridgeport.

Following an investigating, Inspector General Robert Devlin found the marshal's use of force to be justified.