A New Bedford man arrested by Dartmouth police back in September 2016 for assault will serve three to four years in state prison for the assault and for a crime he committed in Fairhaven.

Ezell Carter was charged with and plead guilty to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of witness intimidation, one count of possession of an illegal firearm, and for possession of cocaine and heroin. Carter has two prior convictions for an illegal firearm.

The case which was prosecuted by District Attorney Patrick Driscoll began back in April 2016 when Fairhaven police responded to a call at Huddleston Hotel for a complaint about Carter and his girlfriend. In the hotel room the police found a .38 caliber handgun on the bed and the bullets in a backpack. They were also in possession of cocaine and heroin.

Then in September, Dartmouth police responded to the home of a 45-year-old women who had been assaulted by Carter. The victim who is disabled from a brain injury was found crying with a bloody lip and red chest. She said the incident began over a dispute for her jewelry. When the victim didn’t hand over her jewelry Carter held her at knife point, struck her in the face and threatened her life when she said she would call the police.

District Attorney Quinn said the conviction means the community will be safe from Carter.

“The defendant is in illegal possession of a firearm in a hotel room, and then commits a violent assault against his girlfriend, who has a brain injury,” Quinn said. “Hopefully the sentence will protect the victim and the community from this dangerous defendant.”