WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A man accused of stabbing a beloved Marine veteran in the face during a large fight in Worcester over the weekend faced a judge on Thursday.
Jason Rennie, 33, of Worcester, was arraigned on charges including armed assault to murder, mayhem, two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace in connection with a knife attack that left 26-year-old Tyler Ferrara serious eye injuries.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Ferrara and his friends were leaving Compass Tavern on Winter Street when his family says he intervened to help a woman who was being assaulted.
“This woman was getting beat up from this guy and he intervened, the guy threw a punch at him, he threw a punch back then his two friends jumped in,” his mother Tammy Ferrara said.
She said her son fought off three men until it seemed the fight was over. But, it was not.
“All of a sudden this guy comes out of nowhere with a knife and put the knife right through his eye,” she said.
Officers responding to the fight said they found a chaotic scene upon their arrival. They were then led to where Ferrara was suffering from serious wounds to his eye.
He was taken to Massachusetts Eye and Ear for treatment and his family says he is lucky to be alive.
Surveillance video shown in court Thursday showed dozens of people gathered outside Compass Tavern as the brawl unfolded.
After a brief foot chase that night, officers caught up with Rennie at the Kenmore Diner on Franklin Street.
Ferrara, who has only been out of the service for a little over a month, has a 2-year-old son, a new job, and now must face this serious health battle.
“He’s got the world’s biggest heart and that is what it was,” his brother Matt Ferrara said. “Since he went into the military since he was a kid, he was always trying to help somebody.”
His brother said he hopes the suspect will face serious consequences.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Ferrara.
Rennie is being held without bail.
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