BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) - A Chico man, accused of attempting to murder another man with an axe blow to the chest, was in Butte County Superior Court where a judge found sufficient evidence to send his case to jury trial.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Matthew Dorenzo, 37, of Chico, was held to answer after a preliminary hearing before Judge Stephen Benson. Dorenzo had been charged with Attempted Murder with an Axe Causing Great Bodily Injury and Criminal Threats.  Additionally, Dorenzo is charged with having a prior Assault with a Deadly Weapon as a prior strike offense for which he served prison time. Dorenzo is facing life in prison on the new attempted murder charge.

Ramsey said on May 22, 2020 the 39-year-old victim of Dorenzo’s attack was camping with several members of his family in the Butte Meadows area of Butte County, when another group of individuals (approximately 15 with multiple unrelated families) including Dorenzo, asked if they could camp nearby, across a creek.  As the night progressed, Dorenzo’s group began partying and was loud enough that the victim and a friend approached the group and asked them to be quiet.

Ramsey said Dorenzo, who had been drinking, grabbed an axe and yelled that he was a gang member and had been previously convicted of assault.  Dorenzo also threatened to kill the victim.  Dorenzo then crossed the creek and hit the victim in the chest with the axe blade.  The victim fell back with the axe still in his chest. The victim removed the axe from his chest and Dorenzo helped the victim up, but then threw the victim into the creek.  A melee between the two camping groups then ensued, which was only stopped when the victim’s grandmother fired a .22 caliber rifle into the air. 

Ramsey said the victim’s wife rushed him to Enloe Hospital for treatment of his wound.  The wound was over four inches in length and two inches in width, and deep enough that it struck bone.  As the surgeon aptly stated, she was surprised the victim was still alive.

The judge scheduled Dorenzo for further arraignment and jury trial setting on his charges on October 14, 2020. Dorenzo in the meantime remains free on a $1,000,000 bail bond he posted approximately a month after his arrest.