Man in dress charged with attack on Lynner

A Chelsea District Court judge ordered a Chelsea man held on $2,500 bail Tuesday after he allegedly attacked a pregnant woman and stabbed a Lynn man earlier this month, all while dressed as a woman, a press release from Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.Police charged Miguel A. Rodriguez, 20, with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault and battery. He already has an open case in the district on charges of making threats, witness intimidation and disorderly conduct.According to a Chelsea Police report filed on Dec. 17, officers responded at about 1:30 a.m. to 419 Broadway for a report of a large fight. They found 29-year-old Lynn resident Francisco Ramirez lying in a pool of blood, but conscious.Ramirez told officers that he had been involved in a verbal argument with Rodriguez, who then pulled a knife and stabbed him repeatedly while other unknown assailants beat him up and took his wallet. Rodriguez also reportedly beat up Ramirez’s pregnant girlfriend.Ramirez was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with stab wounds and lacerations to his face and arm, and a large wound on his back that required 93 staples to close. Ramirez said he has since been released and is resting at home, but is currently unable to work.”I don’t understand why he was attacking us. It was for no reason,” Ramirez said Thursday. He added that he knew who Rodriguez was but had only met him a couple of times.In the hours that followed the attack, Chelsea Police took a number of witness statements and spoke to Ramirez’ girlfriend, identified in the report as 23-year-old Elizabeth Smith, who said she and Ramirez were preparing to drive a friend home when Rodriguez approached them and confronted the friend. She said she and Ramirez were dragged into the argument and Rodriguez yanked her ponytail, threw her on the ground and began kicking her.She described Rodriguez to be “dressed as a woman,” wearing a skirt and a black wig. The police report said Rodriguez is known by the department due to past arrests and that he often wears women’s clothing.An ambulance also transported Smith to MGH with injuries described as minor in the report.During a search of the area, Chelsea Police recovered a folding knife that matched a description provided by Smith and a tuft of fake hair belonging to a wig matching the one Rodriguez wore during the attack.Both Ramirez and Smith identified Rodriguez from photo arrays presented by detectives.Chelsea Police arrested Rodriguez earlier this week, according to Conley’s press release, and will return to court on Jan. 23.Ramirez said he hopes his attacker goes to jail, but would also like him to pay his hospital bills. He said Smith is feeling okay after the incident.Taylor Provostr may be reached at [email protected]