BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2014—A man was arraigned yesterday on charges he violated the civil rights of a Green Line passenger he harassed, punched, and attempted to rob at an MBTA station, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

MATTHEW FRANKLIN (D.O.B. 12/30/86), who claimed a downtown homeless shelter as his address, was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on charges of unarmed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery, and violating his victim’s civil rights.  Assistant District Attorney Matthew Fitzgerald requested bail of $2,000; Judge Thomas Horgan imposed $1,000 bail.

Transit Police responded to Park Street station at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 13 and met with the victim of the assault.  He informed officers that a man began yelling ethnic slurs at him while the two were on board a Green Line train.  Both the victim and his harasser exited the train at Park Street station, where the man continued to harass the victim and attempted to steal the victim’s phone out of his hand.  During a brief struggle over the phone, the assailant punched the victim in the face and knocked him to the ground.

As the man fled, a witness chased after him and was able to grab hold of his jacket before he escaped. The witness remained at the scene and provided it to MBTA Transit Police along with a description of the assailant.

Inside the jacket, officers discovered personal papers bearing Franklin’s name and a small notebook containing a sketch of area streets marking the location of the St. Francis House homeless shelter.

Officers compared surveillance images of the assault to an earlier booking photo of Franklin and identified him as the suspect. Franklin was located yesterday morning and placed under arrest.

Franklin was represented by David Fitzgerald.  He will return to court Jan. 13.

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