Boston man pleads not guilty to charges in vandalism spree
A Boston man pleaded not guilty Monday to multiple counts of destruction of property after a weekend vandalism spree damaged the Holocaust Memorial and more than a dozen gravestones, including Paul Revere’s, authorities said.
At his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court, Lawrence Hawkins, 46, was ordered held on $22,500 bail and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Hawkins will be arraigned on additional counts as early as Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Samuel Jones said.
While Jones presented the facts of the case, Hawkins shouted profanities at him. The judge asked Hawkins to quiet down multiple times before officers escorted Hawkins out of the courtroom.
Jones said Hawkins had a lengthy criminal record and previously spent time at Bridgewater State Hospital, the state psychiatric prison.
Robert Glotzer, who was appointed to represent Hawkins, said outside the courtroom that it’s clear Hawkins is suffering from “serious mental illness.”
“My goal is to see to it that he gets the help and services he needs to be stabilized,” he said.
The vandalism spree began Saturday night, police said.
Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police received a report of the glass door at 125 Charles St. South being “completely smashed,” according to a police report. The caller said there was a brick inside the store and they didn’t see a suspect, the report said.
When reviewing surveillance video from the area, police said a white male wearing a dark jacket and a hat could be seen throwing a rock at the door shortly before 10 p.m., the report said.
Over the next few hours, the windshield of a police car was smashed, and a window was broken at 15 Court Square and at 201 Washington St., Jones said.
“He took bricks and rocks and threw them into the glass of businesses, windows, and doors,” Jones said. “He was seen on video committing all of these acts.”
Video footage at the Holocaust Memorialshowed Hawkins throwing a brick at the memorial causing some damage, Jones said.
On Sunday morning, 14 tombstones at Granary Burying Ground, including Paul Revere’s, were found pulled fromthe ground and broken, and six tombstones at King’s Chapel Burying Ground had also been vandalized, Jones said. Video shows a suspect who matched the description of Hawkins from the previous incidents, Jones said.
Hawkins was detained at the State House and taken to the Southampton Street Shelter, which is listed as his home address in court records. He was arrested around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.