Teen from JP Arraigned for Attack of a Woman at Broadway Station Last Week

From DA Kevin Hayden’s Office:

BOSTON, May 1, 2023 –A Jamaica Plain teenager has been ordered to conditional home confinement after being arraigned in South Boston BMC today on charges that he and several other youths last week snatched a grocery bag from a woman riding the Red Line, dumped the items and then pelted the woman with them, injuring her nose, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

SAUL DIAZ, 18, was charged with unarmed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  Judge Michael Bolden released Diaz on personal recognizance but ordered him on weekday home confinement from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m., for the purpose of attending school, and home confinement without conditions on Saturdays and Sundays.  Bolden also ordered Diaz to not loiter at the Broadway MBTA station.  Diaz will return to court June 21 for a probable cause hearing.

A 16-year-old juvenile female was also arrested in the incident and faces similar charges.

On Thursday, April 27 at about 3:38 p.m., MBTA police saw the victim, a 21-year-old woman, sitting on a bench at the Broadway station platform, crying. The victim told police she had been on an outbound Red Line train and saw a group of teenagers arguing with someone.  One of the juveniles, a female, turned to the victim and said “What the (expletive) are you looking at?”

As the female juvenile disembarked from the train at Broadway station, she and a second member of the group, later identified as Diaz, pulled a bag of groceries from the victim and dumped its items on the platform.  They then picked up items and threw them at the victim.  The victim told police she was hit in the nose with a pear. Police noted that the victim’s nose was swollen and bleeding. The victim was transported to Tufts Medical Center for treatment.

Using descriptions provided by the victim and footage from surveillance cameras, police identified Diaz and the female juvenile.  The two were arrested on Friday.

“This is inexcusable conduct that can undermine the public’s confidence in its ability to use public transportation safely and efficiently. Public transportation is crucial to the economic viability of our region, and when something like this happens—a passenger being set upon, unprovoked, and wounded in the process—it’s an assault not just on them, but on the entire system,” Hayden said.

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

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.