BOISE, Idaho — A Boise man was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for attacking a woman, then trying to get her to lie to police about what happened.
Jose V. Alvarez, 23, will have to serve at least four years of that sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
According to the Ada County Prosecutor's Office, Alvarez was first arrested in September 2019 on charges of attempted strangulation and aggravated battery. The suspect admitted to hitting the victim in the stomach and head, and forcefully putting his hand on her neck or throat.
A month later, investigators say, he contacted the woman he had attacked and asked her to lie about what he had done and refuse to show up in court to testify against him.
The woman had a no-contact order against Alvarez at the time. He was then charged with additional counts of intimidating a witness and violating the order to have no contact with the victim.
Alvarez pleaded guilty in May to two felony counts of intimidating a witness, two misdemeanor counts of violation of a no-contact order, and battery.
At the sentencing, Judge James Cawthon ordered Alvarez not to contact the victim in the case for 20 years.
“Thank you to the victim for being so brave throughout this case,” said Jan M. Bennetts, Ada County Prosecutor. “Thank you to Boise Police for their hard work in the initial investigation and for the follow up in this case, which helped my office ensure justice was served.”
