Lynn homeless beating victim third in last month

LYNN – The city’s street advocate said the attack on a homeless man Wednesday is the third act of violence involving homeless victims in the past month.Police continue looking for suspects in connection with the attack shortly before 3 p.m. on a 30-year-old homeless man who, witnesses said, was struck in the head by bricks or sticks by several individuals.One witness said the man was sleeping under trees or bushes bordering the commuter rail tracks and Robert McManus Field off Neptune Boulevard when he was attacked.Police Lt. William Sharpe on Thursday said the man, who was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, is in stable condition and is expected to recover.”We are not commenting further on suspects due to the active nature of the investigation,” Sharpe said.Sharpe would not identify the victim Thursday although initial police transmissions identified him as Abraham Pojoy.Street Advocate Patrick Byrne said he is not familiar with Pojoy, but said Jay LaReaue, who has lived on local streets for years, was attacked by several people a month ago.”They messed him up good. He could barely put one foot in front of the other,” Byrne said.LaReaue was arrested July 14 and charged with trespassing.”He did not report then nor have we received any report since alleging he was a victim of a crime,” Sharpe said Thursday.Byrne said the attack on LaReaue occurred within days of an attack on a homeless man and woman who were sleeping in a concrete culvert pipe near the Nahant Rotary. Someone lit a bottle filled with a flammable fluid and threw it into the pipe.”We are investigating it. We have somebody we have questioned,” Fire Department arson investigator David Legere said.Byrne is worried some homeless people are easy targets at this time of year because they shun the Willow Street shelter’s rules and sleep outdoors, sometimes alone, sometimes in spots where they gather with other homeless.”These people are at great risk. I work very closely with (Police Capt.) Lenny Desmarais. He and the police are very responsive,” Byrne said.