A Bakersfield man was convicted of attempted murder months after attacking his sleeping son with a sledgehammer in Ventura County, officials announced Thursday.
Anthony Nardini, 42, was found guilty of three counts, including attempted murder, aggravated mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon. The jury also found true special allegations of use of a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury in commission of a felony, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
The incident occurred on March 19, when Nardini and his 24-year-old son, who had recently reconnected after being estranged, were staying with family in an unincorporated area near Simi Valley.
The two had been in a physical argument that had to be broken up by family members, officials said.
Nardini at one point left the home in his truck, but later returned while the victim was asleep on the couch. He insisted the others go to bed, and once alone with the victim, Nardini grabbed a sledgehammer he had found on the property and “began to bludgeon his sleeping son with it,” the DA’s office said.
Upon hearing the blows, family members rushed in to find the victim suffering from a severe head wound.
Nardini ran out the backdoor, but was arrested that same day, inmate records show.
Responding deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office found the blood-covered sledgehammer outside the home.
The victim was placed in medically induced coma but survived the attack.
Nardini is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1 and faces a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
“While this conviction will never repair the emotional and physical scars inflicted by his father, we hope that this affirmation by the jury will bring some solace to the young man who experienced an unfathomable attack on his life,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Stu Gardner said.
