BOSTON, November 7, 2017— A Boston man arraigned yesterday for allegedly stabbing another man more than a dozen times at a cash machine was ordered held without bail pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LONNIE FITTS (D.O.B. 7/4/70), who lists a Boston homeless shelter as his residence, was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of armed assault with intent to murder.  At the request of Assistant District Attorney Nina Juitt, Judge James Stanton ordered Fitts held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing under Chapter 276, Section 58A, of the Massachusetts General Laws. The statute allows a judge to hold a defendant accused of certain offenses without bail for up to 120 days pending trial upon “clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community.”  That hearing will be held Monday.

Boston Police were called to the area of Harrison Avenue at approximately 4:42 a.m. Friday for a report of a person stabbed.  They were able to locate the 51-year-old victim suffering from approximately 14 stab wounds to the torso and back. 

The victim was transported to Tufts Medical Center, where he underwent two emergency surgeries to treat his wounds.

Through interviews and security camera footage from a nearby business, investigators determined that the victim was approached inside a Washington Street ATM vestibule by two men – one who was known to the victim and a second man who was not.  After a brief interaction, the second man attacked the victim, prosecutors said.

Fitts was identified in security camera images by a Boston Police detective who was familiar with him, and then by two employees of a Boston homeless shelter. 

He was arrested at the shelter on Friday afternoon in connection with the assault and an outstanding warrant out of Dorchester Municipal Court charging breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony and vandalizing property.  At the time of his arrest, Fitts was wearing the same clothing that he was seen wearing in footage of the assault; arresting officers observed what appeared to be blood stains on the clothing and collected it for forensic testing.

Fitts was represented at arraignment by Alyssa Hackett.  He returns to court Monday for a dangerousness hearing.
 

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.