Malden man charged for injuring a child after smashing a car’s windshield
BOSTON, July 30, 2023 – A Malden man will appear in court Wednesday for a hearing after being arraigned earlier this month for backing into a vehicle then smashing its front and rear windshields with a baseball bat, injuring a one-year-old child inside and fleeing the scene, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
CLIFFORD JONES, 66, of Malden was arraigned on July 18 in Central BMC on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (baseball bat) on a child under 14, malicious destruction of property, possession of a class D substance, selling unstamped cigarettes, and selling cigarettes without a license.
Judge John Garland ordered Jones held on $7,500 bail. Jones is due back in court Wednesday, August 2 for a pre-trial hearing.
On July 18, around 6:15 a.m., Boston police responded to radio call for a possible hit and run motor vehicle accident in the area of 150 Camden Street in the South End. Officers were informed that the victim was driving after the suspect in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.
The victim flagged down Boston police and directed them toward the suspect, later identified as Jones. The victim said Jones backed into his car and a verbal argument ensued when they both got out to check the damage. The victim said Jones then got a baseball bat and began smashing the front and back windshields of the victim’s vehicle. The victim’s one-year-old daughter was in the back seat and glass came raining down on her, causing cuts and lacerations. The child was evaluated on scene by Boston EMS and transported to Boston Medical Center for lacerations and glass contamination.
A witness on scene corroborated the victim’s statement and told officers he observed Jones retrieving a bat from a third party and smash the windows of the victim’s vehicle. Officers observed damage to both the front and rear windshields.
Jones admitted to police that he bumped the victim’s vehicle and after he got out to check for damage, the victim began screaming that his child was in the car. Jones told police he fled the area because he feared for his safety and that the victim chased him for several blocks before police arrived.
Another witness told officers both vehicles were seen operating at a high speed, running through red lights, and driving the wrong way on one-way streets chasing each other.
An aluminum bat was located on scene. Hundreds of packs of cigarettes affixed with New Hampshire tax stamps, along with various nicotine and THC oil cartridges and packages of marijuana were recovered from Jones’s vehicle.
Jones has an extensive Massachusetts and out-of-state record, dating back to 1975.
“This was a terrifying sequence of events for the victim and for the victim’s child. It’s tragic that such a young child witnessed this and sustained injuries severe enough to be hospitalized. Minor motor vehicle accidents happen all the time. But to react with such violence, and with no hesitation in placing a child in danger, is intolerable,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications