$10G bail for man accused in tire iron beating

LYNN – A judge ordered $10,000 cash bail for a Salem man who a prosecutor said beat a man with a tire iron during an attempted robbery at an ATM in downtown Lynn but whom witnesses failed to identify as the assailant.”This is a circumstantial case, but I would say a strong circumstantial case,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Byron said in Lynn District Court Thursday.Matthew Sposato, 39, of 100 Bridge St. #1, Salem, was arrested on a warrant for armed assault to rob; and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.He was arraigned on the charges Thursday in Lynn District Court. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.Police responded at approximately 9:45 a.m. Saturday to the Sovereign Bank ATM at 39 Exchange St. where a man told officers he had been attacked and repeatedly struck on the head with what appeared to be a tire iron, Byron told the court.The man, who incidentally had not been robbed, was taken to Union Hospital, Byron said. A bank employee and another witness told police a skinny white man with long black hair got out of a black car and attack the alleged victim, Byron said. He noted the incident was also captured on video. Police traced the vehicle to Sposato’s apartment where they found hair in the toilet and the defendant with a “crude, freshly-cut” haircut, Byron told the court. Police also found a hair elastic with long dark hair in the apartment, Byron noted.Byron said police also found a tie-dye shirt in Sposato’s vehicle which the bank employee identified as the shirt the suspect was wearing during the attack. Police also found a tire iron in a dumpster where a surveillance video captured somebody in Sposato’s vehicle discard a small metal bar. The tire iron was same size as that used in the alleged attack, Byron said. He said it also “fit perfectly” in the spot of the tire iron that was missing from Sposato’s tire-jack kit. Byron noted police found suspected blood stains also in the place where the tire iron would have rested.Byron acknowledged neither of the witnesses could identify Sposato as the suspect, however.He nevertheless requested $25,000 cash bail, citing Sposato’s criminal record in New York contained similar-type offenses.Court-appointed defense attorney Donnalee Leonardo argued the witness descriptions of a thin white male with long brown hair “do not fit this individual at all,” and were pretty basic traits to identify.She also said the defendant’s history in New York was also 20-years-old and that her client had cooperated with police over several days, even surrendering to police when he learned of a warrant for his arrest.”There is some circumstantial evidence but certainly not enough to hold someone on $25,000,” she said.She requested Sposato be released on a high personal-surety bond or a bail of $500.”I think the evidence is strong and the attack appears to be brutal,” Judge James LaMothe said, ordering $10,000 cash bail.He scheduled Sposato to return to court on Sept. 10.