Marathon first responder Patterson charged with domestic assault

LYNN – The local firefighter who shared a national spotlight with other first responders following the April Marathon bombings was arrested and charged with domestic assault Friday following an argument with his girlfriend, a police report stated.Matthew Patterson, 31, pleaded not guilty to the domestic assault and battery charge Friday in District Court and Judge James Lamothe released him on personal recognizance and ordered Patterson to return to court on Dec. 16.Police, who arrived at Patterson’s Boston Street apartment building shortly before 4 a.m. in response to a call about “a female trashing the apartment,” found Alexandra Gomes in the building’s rear parking lot and she told officers she had an argument with Patterson.Gomes, according to Officer Paul Holey’s report filed in District Court, identified Patterson as her boyfriend and told officers Patterson “…threw her to the floor inside the apartment and then grabbed her by the neck and physically threw her out of the apartment.”Officers observed “redness” around Gomes’ neck and arrested Patterson over Gomes’ objections, according to the report.”She stated she did not want a restraining order and wanted Patterson to be released on bail,” the report stated.Patterson, an Army veteran and eight-year firefighter, ran from a Boylston Street restaurant seconds after bombs exploded April 15 near the Boston Marathon finish line. With another man’s help, he rushed an injured child to an ambulance. In an April 16 Item interview, he also described his efforts to aid another child.He subsequently learned the first child was Boston resident Jane Richard and the second child was her brother, Martin – one of three people killed in the bombings.Patterson received praise and attention from the Boston Red Sox, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, the City Council and other recognition in the bombings’ aftermath and was sought out for interviews by television programs with national audiences.He told police on Friday, according to Holey’s report, that he called police after he and Gomes argued and Gomes “began to throw things around the apartment and was throwing eggs on the floor.”Fire Chief James McDonald on Friday said police informed him of Patterson’s arrest and said he has yet to discuss the incident with Patterson.