Dorchester man held without bail for unprovoked attack
BOSTON, May 30, 2024 –A Dorchester man is being held without bail after he punched a man, unprovoked, and stole from him as he lay on the ground motionless, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
DAMOND BROWN, 52, was charged in BMC Central with unarmed robbery on a person over 60. Judge Steven Key found Brown dangerous on May 2 and ordered him held without bail. Brown will return to court on June 17 for a probable cause hearing.
Brown has a 12-page board of probation record dating back to 1989. He was convicted of armed assault to murder in 2019 and sentenced to four to six years in prison.
At about 4:52 a.m. on April 20, Boston police responded to an assault and battery call at Harrison and Massachusetts Avenue. Officers found a male victim, 65, with a laceration to his head next to pool of blood. The victim told officers he was walking when an unknown male, later identified as Brown, randomly punched him with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground. The victim said he “blacked out” and woke up on the ground.
Investigators recovered video footage from the surrounding area, including from a camera affixed to the Boston Medical Center. The footage shows Brown punching the victim on the left side of his face with his left hand. The victim immediately falls to the ground and does not appear to move. As the victim is laying on the ground, Brown and an unidentified individual crouch down and appear to be rummaging through his pockets.
Still images and the video of the incident were distributed to officers in the area.
On April 22, officers observed a man, later identified as Brown, matching the suspect’s description no more than twenty feet from where the incident occurred.
The second suspect has not yet been identified. The investigation is ongoing.
Hayden acknowledged the role that video surveillance played in helping police identify Brown.
“In the not-too-distant past investigators may have had much more difficulty identifying a suspect in a stranger-violence assault like this. As demonstrated here, technology like surveillance cameras in public areas is enormously beneficial to the community when used responsibly. The goal for all these tech systems is to increase neighborhood safety without impacting personal freedoms, and I think we’re getting that balance right in Suffolk County,” 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