A man convicted of burglary and attempted murder and mayhem with a machete has been denied parole by The California Board of Prison Terms, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said Monday.
Ray Allen Mays, 38, was convicted in April 2003 and sentenced to four years plus life in prison, District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.
He entered a married couple's apartment in a complex where he previously worked off Airport Boulevard north of Santa Rosa in the middle of the night on Feb. 23, 2002, Ravitch said.
During the burglary, the male resident stirred from his sleep and Mays attacked him with a machete, Ravitch said. The victim required approximately 200 staples to close the wound in his head from the machete, Ravitch said.
Mays, a transient who was staying near the apartment complex, noted at his sentencing that he didn't know the victims but knew they had money he could steal for his methamphetamine habit, Ravitch said.
The Board of Prisons heard testimony from Mays, reviewed his psychological evaluations, reviewed his prison files and heard arguments from both sides before denying Mays parole for the second time, Ravitch said.
Mays will not be eligible for parole again until 2017. Ravitch called the attack on the unsuspecting sleeping couple calculated, brutal and "especially heinous."
"He continues to pose a real danger to the community and his continued incarceration is necessary," Ravitch said.
Deputy District Attorney Bran Staebell presented the prosecution's case at the parole hearing.
--Bay City News
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