Tuesday dangerousness hearing for man accused of unprovoked attack on Dorchester woman
BOSTON, July 24, 2023 – A Boston man faces a dangerousness hearing Tuesday after being charged with attacking a 59-year-old woman in Dorchester earlier this month after accusing her of not saying good morning to him, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
IAN ATKINSON, 33, of Dorchester was charged in Dorchester BMC Thursday with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (car). Judge Erika Reis ordered Atkinson held without bail pending the Tuesday dangerousness hearing. Reis did not immediately rule on the prosecutor’s request to revoke bail on an existing assault and firearm possession case against Atkinson.
At about 9 a.m. on July 13 Boston police responded to Balsam Street in Dorchester where the victim told them that while she was watering her lawn a man, unknown to her and later identified as Atkinson, walked by her and then cursed at her for not saying good morning to him. Suddenly fearful because of the aggressive nature of Atkinson’s remark, the victim started videotaping Atkinson with her cell phone. Atkinson, who had entered a black Mercedes parked nearby, then left the car, advanced on the victim and began punching her.
Home security surveillance video obtained by police shows Atkinson punch the victim at least seven times in the head. The video then shows Atkinson return to the Mercedes, put it in reverse, and swerve in the victim’s direction before driving away. The victim, who was bleeding profusely from her nose, was able to video the Mercedes’s license plate. She also told police she noticed Atkinson wearing what appeared to be a GPS tracking device.
Officers ran the plate number, leading them to Atkinson’s Lucerne Street address. There they found a different Mercedes registered to Atkinson. Officers compared Atkinson’s license photo to the man captured by the victim’s phone video and determined them to be the same person. The victim later identified Atkinson as her attacker in a photo array. Police also determined that Atkinson was wearing a GPS tracker under conditions of his existing case. Information from the tracker placed Atkinson directly at the Balsam Street location at the time of the assault. Police issued a warrant on Atkinson and he was arrested several days later.
The victim was transported to Carney Hospital, where it was determined that she suffered a fractured nose and a subconjunctival hemorrhage to her left eye. The victim told police she managed to bite Atkinson on the shoulder during the attack.
“It’s difficult to comprehend the viciousness and randomness of such an attack, in this case on a stranger doing nothing more than watering her lawn. All over a perceived—and perhaps nonexistent—slight. But it isn’t difficult to admire the bravery and alertness of this victim, and her presence of mind not only to get crucial video of her attacker but also to notice that he was strapped with a GPS device,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications