NORTHAMPTON — A judge on Friday ruled that an Easthampton man accused of carrying out a violent attack against his estranged wife’s boyfriend may have supervised in-person visits with the woman and their young son.
At his first Hampshire Superior Court appearance — which was well attended by the defendant’s family and friends — Abdelaziz Afoulous, 33, pleaded not guilty to home invasion, armed burglary, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a family or household member and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
He pleaded not guilty to similar charges in district court shortly after his arrest and was indicted by a grand jury in February, which subsequently brought his case to superior court. Afoulous previously posted $1,000 cash bail with several conditions, including that he not contact or see his wife or the man he allegedly attacked.
But on Friday, defense counsel Jesse Adams asked the judge to consider allowing Afoulous to spend time in person with his wife and their 3-year-old son, who police also say witnessed parts of the alleged attack.
The woman also appeared in court to support the motion.
“She wishes to normalize family relations and spend time with the defendant and their 3-year-old son,” Adams said in court. “They would like to spend time together as a family for the sake of the healthy development of their young son.”
The judge went along with the motion, but stipulated that the visits must be supervised by the woman’s mother, who lives nearby.
Police said Afoulous showed up at his wife’s Easthampton home in the early morning hours of Jan. 15 and tried to assault the woman and her boyfriend with a knife. Authorities also said he beat and kicked the man to the point where the man lost consciousness.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.