BOSTON, Aug. 16, 2013—An East Boston man was arraigned today for using a machete to attack a friend who allegedly threw a traffic cone through his window after a fight, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOSEPH CAHILL (D.O.B. 7/10/53) was arraigned in East Boston District Court on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  Judge Kenneth Fiandaca set bail at $25,000 and ordered that Cahill wear a GPS monitor, stay away from the victim, surrender his passport, and stay within 15 miles of Boston.

According to prosecutors, a witness called police after the victim, a 48-year-old Mattapan man, stumbled toward him with lacerations to his head and chest at the corner of Harve and Porter streets shortly after 4:00 this morning and asked him to call 911.

When asked who had stabbed him, the victim could only say, “Crazy Joe.”

The victim was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he remains in stable condition.

Officers followed a blood trail leading from Porter Street to Cahill’s Paris Street home, which had a front window broken out, prosecutors said.  Officers also discovered a blood covered rag, a pool of blood, and another home in the area with a smashed window, prosecutors said.

Based on witness statements, investigators pieced together the sequence of events and learned that the victim had been visiting with Cahill last night into this morning. During the course of the night, the two men fought and Cahill suffered a laceration to his thumb. He was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for that injury and was released.

After Cahill returned from the hospital, the victim allegedly threw an orange traffic cone through the front window of Cahill’s home.  Prosecutors said that witnesses reported seeing Cahill arm himself with a machete and exit his home, at which point he instigated a violent confrontation with the victim.

Cahill, whose record includes convictions for drug and assault offenses, allegedly denied any involvement in the incident when he spoke to Boston Police. He allegedly told them that an unknown person broke his window and that he cut himself cleaning up the broken glass.

Cahill is represented by Anthony Lochiatto.  He will return to court on Sept. 10.

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