A Chelsea man who last month fled police custody was ordered held on $1 million cash bail at his Suffolk Superior Court arraignment today, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

JOEL McDONALD (D.O.B. 1/26/90) is charged with assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawful possession of ammunition, and carrying a loaded firearm, all in connection with the Jan. 21 non-fatal shooting of a 53-year-old man near McDonald’s Chelsea home.

McDonald was also charged with assault and battery and two counts of threats for allegedly attacking a 42-year-old female relative who also lives in the Hawthorne Street residence.

In making the request for $1 million bail, Assistant District Attorney Amy Galatis of Conley’s Senior Trial Unit told the court that McDonald avoided apprehension for three months before he was located by United States Marshals in Providence, R.I. On April 22, McDonald was transported to the custody of the Chelsea Police Department, where he was booked, handcuffed, and placed into a police cruiser for transport to the Chelsea District Court for arraignment.

While inside the cruiser, Galatis said, McDonald kicked out the back door, jumped out of the vehicle, and fled. On May 17, United States Marshals together with detectives from the Boston Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit located McDonald in Dorchester and took him into custody.

McDonald could face additional charges in connection with his escape, Conley said.

Describing the underlying offense, Galatis told the court that Chelsea Police officers responded to Hawthorne Street at about 10:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the female victim, who told them that she and McDonald were having a disagreement over a bottle of liquor when McDonald screamed at her, pushed her up against the wall, and threatened to kill her.

When the victim called 911, Galatis said, McDonald trashed his room and made a mess of the kitchen before fleeing the home.

Later that day, Galatis said, officers were again called to the home for a report of a shooting.

“Upon entering, [officers] observed blood in the first floor hallway, on the stairs to the second floor, and a larger amount of blood on the second floor,” she said.

Officers found the male victim in a back bedroom lying on the floor, conscious but seriously wounded by multiple gunshot wounds. Galatis told the court that the male victim had arrived at the house shortly after McDonald had left. The male victim later went downstairs to retrieve the mail and saw McDonald walking towards the home.

The two men walked down a small side street nearby where “the defendant pulled out a handgun and shot the male victim twice before fleeing,” Galatis said.

The man was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of three gunshot wounds to his left shoulder and the area of his upper left chest. Two of those wounds may have been caused by the same bullet, Galatis told the court, and one bullet remains lodged in the victim’s body.

During the investigation, Chelsea police detectives and members of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab recovered two spent shell casings and two sets of footprints in the snow. The male victim later positively identified McDonald as the man who shot him.

McDonald was represented by attorney Kevin Mullen. He is expected to return to court on June 1.