Boston, Oct. 16, 2012—A Somerville man was arraigned today on charges he and an associate beat an unarmed, wounded US Army veteran who told him to stop urinating on a Boston street, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JAMES PLUNKETT (D.O.B. 1/30/86) was arraigned in the Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon – a shod foot. Judge Lawrence E. McCormick set bail at $1,000 and ordered Plunkett to stay away from and have no contact with his victim.

“It’s just disgusting that anyone, much less a man injured in service to his country, would be attacked like this on the streets of Boston,” Conley said.

Assistant District Attorney Emily Hamrock said that Plunkett and a second man were urinating near the corner Charles and Pinckney streets around 1:30 a.m. Monday when a 29-year-old veteran home after being wounded in an explosion in the Iraq war walked by with his wife. The veteran asked the men to “put it away” so he and his wife could pass by.

Prosecutors say an argument ensued and the two men then followed the couple to their car, where both men threw several punches at the victim. When the victim fell to the ground, Plunkett allegedly continued to punch and kick him, prosecutors said.

The victim was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was treated for a broken nose, a broken bone in his hand, and facial injuries. His wife, who prosecutors said called 911 and identified the suspects for police, was uninjured.

Boston Police have identified the second alleged assailant and may charge him in the near future.

Plunkett was represented by attorney Marc Brofsky. He will return to court on Dec. 4.

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