LYNN — A judge ordered a city man held for probation after a prosecutor said the man argued with a mentally disabled man about baby formula then recruited friends to go and attack the handicapped person.
“He was there, learned the victim had an injury that required a plate in his head, left, then came back with his friends and jumped the victim,” Assistant District Attorney Andrew Boyd said in Lynn District Court Monday.
Robert Lee, also known as Ralph Mazziotta, 26, of 44 Estes St. #6, was arrested and charged with assault and battery on a disabled person; and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; Sunday.
Police responded to Quincy Terrace at 10:30 p.m. Sunday on a report of a “fight with a man down,” Boyd, summarizing from a Lynn Police report, told the court.
Boyd said police found a man who was unconscious and having difficulty breathing. The man’s brother was also at the scene and told police he had come to pick up his brother when he saw five individuals attack the victim. The witness said the defendant was “beating his brother in the head,” Boyd told the court. The witness told police he put the defendant in a headlock but was thrown against a concrete wall by one of the other assailants, Boyd told the court.
Boyd said the incident was triggered by an argument between the victim and the defendant that erupted while the defendant was trying to purchase baby formula in a neighborhood store. A witness to that incident explained to Mazziotta that the victim had suffered a head injury that resulted in a metal plate in his head, Boyd told the court. But the witness said Mazziotta said he “would be back with his brothers.”
Police found Mazziotta based on the two witnesses’ descriptions and police familiarity with Mazziotta, Boyd said.
Mazziotta denied he had been near the alleged incidents and explained recent injuries by saying that he was jumped, Boyd told the court.
Police noted that Mazziotta was wearing a GPS bracelet as a condition of probation and release in two cases — which they could easily check to verify his whereabouts.
Boyd said Mazziotta was on probation for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and had defaulted on this case for more than five years while living — and accruing additional charges — in California.
Boyd said Mazziotta also has an open case for possession of Class A drugs.
Boyd requested $10,000 cash bail for the new charges and that the bail in the possession case be revoked. The probation department recommended Mazziotta be held for a possible probation violation.
Defense Attorney Randi Potash said Mazziotta told her he was defending himself after being jumped. She requested bail not be revoked, that he not be detained and any bail be minimal.
“My client is injured, I’ve taken pictures of his head,” she said. “He tells me he was assaulted and he was defending himself in this case.”
Judge Matthew Machera set $2,000 cash bail on the new charges and ordered bail be revoked and the defendant be held for probation.
Mazziotta is scheduled to return to court May 14.
Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].
