Man accused of beating, macing woman he was attempting to rob

LYNN – A judge ordered a Salem man held on prior charges and set $5,000 cash bail on a new case in which the defendant allegedly maced and then beat up a woman he was trying to rob. Police said the defendant also later essentially turned his cell into a shower.”Inside the cell was (the defendant) who was standing completely nude inside the cell,” Lynn Police Officer Michael MacEachern wrote in a report. “As we walked up to the cell, (the defendant) yelled to us, ?maybe now you’ll listen to me.'”Anthony D. Walcott, 39, of 35 Upham St. #1, was arrested and charged with assault and battery; disorderly conduct; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts; assault with a dangerous weapon; armed assault to rob; resisting arrest; use of tear gas/ mace in a crime; possession of chemical mace without a firearms identification card, subsequent offense; and vandalizing property; at 11:39 p.m. Tuesday.He pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday in Lynn District Court.Police were leaving a Shaws Court address after accompanying a woman to collect some belongings when they saw a disturbance on Essex Street, Lynn Police Officer Mark Nerich wrote in a report.Officers reported that Walcott was punching and kicking the woman (who had walked away from Shaws Court prior to officers leaving the area) and that the defendant fled as police pulled over.Police chased Walcott through several yards on Tilton Terrace and eventually found the defendant hiding, officers reported. Police said Walcott had to be physically removed from his hiding place and taken to the ground so that they could get handcuffs on him.”Walcott then shouted several times without provocation that he was involved in a drug deal gone bad and referred to the victim as a ?he,'” police reported.The alleged victim told police she was walking down Essex Street when Walcott jumped off of his bike, sprayed something in her face and told her to give up her belongings, according to police. Police reported the alleged victim had a red eye, and officers reported recovering a folding knife at the scene of the assault and a can of tear gas where Walcott was hiding.Police added to the report later that a fire alarm went off in the cell block, and they found that Walcott had damaged the fire sprinkler in his cell, flooding the area.Essex Assistant District Attorney Justin Edwards requested Walcott’s bail in a Peabody case be revoked and that the defendant be held on $50,000 cash bail for the new charges, according to court documents.Judge Ellen Flatley noted Walcott’s “long, long record” and revoked the defendant’s bail on the open case and ordered $5,000 cash bail for the new charges.Walcott is scheduled to return to court Oct. 16.