Waltham man pleads guilty, sentenced to 14 years for 2020 assaults

Clauvens Janvier, 29, of Waltham, on Monday pleaded guilty to numerous assault-related charges from a string of random assaults he carried out in 2020 in which Janvier struck 10 men, including an on-duty letter carrier, from behind with a weapon.  He was sentenced to 14 years at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster.

Janvier pleaded guilty to five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, three counts of assault and battery, and carrying a dangerous weapon.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge C. William Barrett sentenced Janvier to 14 years in prison on the recommendations of a plea agreement between Janvier and the prosecution. 

Janvier has already served five years and 26 days of his sentence while awaiting sentencing.

Waltham police arrested Janvier, a 2015 Waltham High School graduate, on Dec. 11, 2020, on charges related to the string of assaults that happened between Nov. 10 and Nov. 27 of that year across the city. 

Barrett initially expressed reluctance to grant the proposed sentence, saying that if Janvier had been found guilty by a jury, he would not have accepted such a short sentence because of the impact the assaults had on the Waltham community. 

“These acts were brazen and reckless and malicious and quite frankly had a whole community walking on pins and needles,” Barrett said.

Janvier’s sentence also included findings from a November 2025 jury trial on 10 charges connected to one of the assaults. The jury found him guilty of eight of those charges: two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, two counts of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, felony possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.   

Janvier will have to complete three years probation after he’s released. He will be barred from contacting the victims of the assaults and possessing firearms. 

He was also ordered to undergo mental health evaluation and treatment.

Barrett noted that if Janvier is again found in possession of an unauthorized firearm, he may face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act.

Prosecution lawyer Jacob McCrindle said he was seeking the prosecution’s original pretrial recommendation of 14 years, instead of the maximum sentence of 15 years, because of Janvier’s team’s cooperation to reach a deal and Janvier’s willingness to waive his right to appeal. McCrindle said his team had not been able to find victims willing to give statements on the case, despite attempts to reach the victims, which also influenced the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation.

The prosecution agreed not to prosecute three additional charges against Janvier — of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and mayhem — that were connected  to incidents, noting that they are covered by other charges.

Barrett added that when Janvier gets out of prison at the age of 38, he will still have a lot of life ahead of him and wished him luck in working to build a better, more productive future.

“These were horrendous things that were done, and you’re paying a price for it,” Barrett said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t turn a page.”