Jury convicts Lexington man for repeatedly smashing glass into Seaport bouncer's face while screaming racial epithets at him

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Khalid Kalila, 31, for a 2018 attack at a Seaport restaurant that left a bouncer at Empire on Seaport Boulevard blind in one eye for several months and with paralysis on one side of his face that persists to this day, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Kalila, a Moroccan native, was being escorted out of Empire on Jan. 21, 2018 for screaming racial epithets at somebody who had inadvertently bumped into him when he smashed the glass he still had in his hand into the bouncer's face and then began repeatedly smashing him and screaming racial epithets at the bouncer, who is Black according to the DA's office and a police report on the attack.

At one point, Kalila's brother, Othmane, joined in the attack, putting the stunned, bleeding bouncer into a chokehold before other bar workers could separate them, according to the DA's office.

The bouncer, rushed to Mass. General, required 100 stitches. And while he has since recovered his sight, he continues to suffer from facial nerve damage, the DA's office reports.

Kalila faces sentencing on Thursday on his convictions for mayhem, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and civil rights violation with injury, the DA's office reports. His brother pleaded guilty to a single count of assault and battery last October; his case was continued without a finding.

In a statement, DA Rachael Rollins said:

We do not tolerate hate or bigotry in Suffolk County. Khalid Kalila, in a racist attack, inflicted physical and emotional injuries that could impact this victim for the rest of his life. The conviction holds Mr. Kalila accountable for his disgraceful, hate-filled, and violent actions, but it does not reverse the harm he inflicted