Man remains held in hatchet attack

Suspect allegedly assaulted goddaughter who took him in

A 66-year-old man, who allegedly attacked his goddaughter and her 14-year-old daughter with a hatchet as they slept in the Lowell home where they let him stay when he got out of federal prison, will continue to be held without bail, a judge ruled Monday.

Ralph Goodridge, who spent over 23 years serving two life sentences on federal bank robbery and firearms charges that he was convicted of in 1997, was determined to be too dangerous to be released pending trial on felony assault charges following a hearing in Lowell District Court.

Goodridge, who is not originally from Lowell, was staying with his goddaughter and her two children in a Lakeview Avenue home on Sept. 17, because the goddaughter let him stay in the attic for a few days, according to a police report.

Goodridge was freed earlier this year because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that redefined the way a career criminal is defined, which meant the “three strikes law” sentencing guidelines that led to Goodridge getting two life sentences in 1997 no longer applied to him.

As a result, a federal court judge in February vacated the life sentences and sentenced Goodridge instead to time served, since he had already spent over 23 years in federal prison even though the new sentencing guidelines that applied to him should have led to a sentence of no more than 14 years, according to federal court records.

Goodridge was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and to spend the first six months of his freedom in a residential re-entry center, according to federal court records.

While federal court filings from Goodridge’s attorney in

February claimed Goodridge had a daughter and family who were eager to take him in and help him adjust to life out of prison, the report filed by Lowell Police makes it appear that plan went horribly awry.

“Given Mr. Goodridge’s lengthy and stressful incarceration, further incarceration is not necessary for deterrence,” federal public defender Judith Mizner wrote in February. “Nor, given Mr. Goodridge’s age, a family eager to reunite with him, and his desire to obtain assistance from Probation and other resources