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Four charged with slicing, tasing, beating man on the Red Line in robbery attempt; one also charged for crowbar beatings, robberies on the Green Line
By adamg on Tue, 01/31/2023 - 3:43pm
Bryan Fitzpatrick, charged with Red, Green Line attacks. Surveillance photos via Transit Police.
Two men and two women face charges that they broke a Red Line rider's nose, sliced his jacket and tased him during a robbery attempt on a Red Line train in the tunnel between Broadway and South Station shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
One of the four, Bryan Fitzpatrick, 19, of Walpole, was also charged with being part of a separate group of four robbers with a crowbar who beat, robbed and threatened Green Line riders on Jan. 12.
According to the DA's office, Transit Police officers responded to South Station on Jan. 25 and that:
a man told them that two men and two women had approached him and attempted to take his bag on the train between Broadway and South Station. When the victim did not release the bag, the four punched and kicked him, and attacked him with a knife and a taser. The victim suffered facial injuries and his jacket was slashed in the attack. The four assailants were captured on MBTA video fleeing South Station.
Using the surveillance video and descriptions provided by the victim and witnesses, police identified and arrested the four suspects in and around Harvard Square on Thursday and Friday.
Ny-Jaya Sampson, 19, of Boston, Seth Burns, 20, of Manchester, NH and Sidney Amaral, 23, of Cambridge were arraigned in Boston Municipal Court yesterday on four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and single counts of assault and battery and assault to rob.
Judge John Garland ordered Sampson held in lieu of $1,000 bail, and to stay away from the MBTA and from her co-defendants. Burns had bail set at $2,000 with similar stay-away orders. Amaral's bail was set at $2,000 but the judge ordered her held for 90 days after revoking her bail on other open cases, the DA's office reports.
Fitzpatrick will be arraigned on the Red Line charges at a later date, the DA's office reports. Fitzpatrick was instead arraigned Friday in Roxbury Municipal court for his alleged role in the Jan. 12 Green Line attacks. In that case, Judge Kenneth Fiandaca set his bail at $10,000 - but also ordered him held for 90 days without bail after holding a dangerousness hearing and concluding he was a potential menace to society.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
To summarize further
There were 2 incidents-
Jan 12- 4 person, 2 line crime spree. FitzPatrick was a part of that. The other 3 are still at large (as far as we know.)
Jan 25- 4 person violent crime. FitzPatrick was also a part of that. The other three were also arrested for the incident.
To update your summary
Transit PD caught three of the four people allegedly involved in the Jan. 12 attacks.
Fitzpatrick was the one who got away - until he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 25 attack and police realized, hmm, he looks familiar.
So we now have a total of seven people facing charges related to two sets of attacks.
Thanks
I missed that part. Cool that we've got everyone arrested for the crimes.
T- Ridership is plummeting
Between the virus and the violence people are afraid to ride the rails. In New York Mayor Adams a former transit cop came up with a novel strategy to combat rising crime he put transit cops on trains.
The Boston Crab
T-ridership is down because people discovered transportation alternatives during lockdown, and some still prefer them, not because people are afraid. https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/10/24/spill-the-t-riders-are-b...
T service is unreliable, slow, and expensive. (Note that ridership is up on the free bus pilots.) Rush hour service is regularly 10 - 40 minutes late for trains, busses, and the commuter rail. Communication is abysmal. Dispatchers have busses skip stops, but don't tell the people waiting there. T-ridership is down, but it's because Bostonians have a bullshit limit, not because they are afraid.
Feeling safe on the T
I disagree - I think many of us T riders are feeling less safe on the T. I can't recall the last time I saw a Transit officer on a trolley or subway train. But, there have been numerous recent times when I felt unsafe on the Orange line.
I agree the service is bad and not improving which along with a perceived safety problem may be leading some people to avoid the T.
Others like myself are stuck with the T for better or worse,
Plenty of people are afraid
You're correct that people aren't riding because of the T's unreliability, slowness, and expense... but plenty of people are also afraid. Maybe you're not, but you can't speak for anyone. Safety is also a big area where the T is failing and there are plenty of people who choose to commute a different way because of this.
Reliability and fast service is also up ….
…. on the free busses. And back down again on the Silver Line and busses ever since fare taking resumed. Drivers wave people through more often than they used to before the pandemic protocols were used. They still can’t officially open both doors for entry though.
The apps still have glitches.
The fare gates at North Station add delays, missed trains and major frustrations for many passengers. Conductors trying their best to keep safety standards met.
Things have improved marginally for pedestrians and non motor vehicle users. But too many people have alternatives or are committed to reducing the hazards and destruction drivers wreak on the city so both have no choice but accept what the T throws at them.
Reliability is up on free buses?
You’re going to need to site a source. Only articles I could find were from a year ago and were about how no-one is really saving any money.
Me (not regularly) and my friend (every weekday and Saturday)
If you want more than that, you’ll have to do your own research and site your own sources, if you so please.
Ok, Crusher?
So anecdotal evidence….
Got it
All yours, Crusher.
Are you going to share yours?
No pressure. Just showing polite interest.
You understand how this works, right?
You made the statement that the free buses are more reliable now. Google didn’t back this up so I asked for a source. You provided your anecdotal evidence and chalked it up to truth.
I need to show sources for what? I never made any statements.
I understand your methods, bo,
They just don’t work.
The free buses are all right
The free buses are all right for the cost, and if you dont have to be anywhere on time, and dont mind the rowdiness. Overall the value on the T is not there. Everywhere underground smells like urine. The stations dont get cleaned. taking out the trash cans is not enough. Cost is too high vs other means of transportation and its unreliable with the break downs, delays, shuttle buses replacing trains, shutting down the whole line because of a problem with a train door at the last stop, all trains on the line coming to a halt because of one medical emergency outside the station.
Anecdotal?
I'd say someone who has taken 528+ trips (6 days a week since Mar 2022) during rush hour has a pretty good idea of whether a bus is reliable or not. It's not a scientific study, but I'd certainly take their word for it.
That’s the very definition of anecdotal evidence
Sure, take their word for it (his friend not him and on an internet ‘forum’, no less. What could go wrong?!). I, however, prefer to base my opinions on facts.
No it isn't
With that many data points? Hardly, unless you're calling him a liar -- and if you want to do that, stop being so passive-aggressive and say so.
It is
Anecdotal
(of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research.
Where are the facts? Because his friend said it was more reliable? Even if that’s the case, what is he basing this off? Does he have a spreadsheet he can share proving his statement? Where’s the research?
Even if Lee’s friend kept an accurate journal, one person’s experience can’t be a basis to prove a hypothesis, at least not in the scientific community. Especially not a global hypothesis stating that the bus is more reliable now that it’s free.
Anecdotal vs Data
Repeating the same process over 500 times is exactly what one would do to prove a hypothesis.
When someone observes something once, it is anecdotal.
When someone observes something repeatedly, it is data.
A sample size of 1.9%
Will never prove a hypothesis. Ever!
Math
—————
338 days since 3/1/2022
28 Bus
90 trips a day * 338 days = 30,420 total trips
Lee’s Friend
2 trips a day * 290 days (6 days a week since 3/1/2022) = 580 trips
580/30,420 = .0190664 * 100 = 1.90664%
You’re getting the squeeze out treatment.
It’s not a genuine heartfelt hug, if that’s what you are looking for.
a few more things...
Agree with all your points, here a couple more observations:
A commuter rail pass to the outer zones is $400+
When we finish extending the rail to Fall River / New Bedford, what percentage of those communities will be able to afford it?
How much more ridership would we see on existing lines if it was made more affordable?
Many cities have their own local bus system, (WRTA, RIPTA, SRTA, GATRA.) Will it be possible to buy a combined pass for commuter rail and local bus? How much more does that cost on top of $400? Currently, you cannot use the Commuter Rail app to board busses or trains in Boston, so you have to get a paper ticket. A $400 paper ticket. If you lose it, you're fucked. You also have to make sure you buy it on the 1st of every month, or you are losing money. Why does the MBTA make it so hard for daily users to do the most basic of tasks?
Also, cross city options are abysmal. Every parkway in the city has heavy commuter traffic, but many (most?) don't have bus routes on them. Ever try and get between Roslindale and Watertown? 45min in a car, 2+ hours by public transit. Oh and you can't take the most direct bus route on weekends or when they cancel school (surprise!)
I have seen so many bus drivers skip stops where people have been waiting for hours. Sometimes in the pouring rain or freezing cold. Sometimes they were waiting for the last bus. Some drivers seem to have a real animosity towards riders. Why are you acting like it's my fault that your fare box is broken?
But bus drivers are screamed at, spit on, and attacked. And the starting wage for bus drivers is only $22.21/hr. Oh and they only get 30 hours to start. So starting wage is $34,647. Who in their right mind would want a thankless, stressful, dangerous, highly-skilled job that can't pay for an apartment anywhere in Boston?
This! Just getting from JP to
This! Just getting from JP to Brookline was hard and time consuming. I have spent a lot of time in my life waiting for buses and trains. I won't get that time back.
Obviously it varies by line
Obviously it varies by line but at least the Needham CR line has become more and more attractive as an alternative to the T - on time, reliable, not THAT much more expensive... if I can time trips to take the CR I will. If not, I'd still rather drive in traffic and pay for parking than deal with the dumpster fire orange line at this point.
Speak for yourself
I am NOT afraid of riding the T
Oh, calm down.
While I agree that Transit Police are generally useless and dont do much by way of policing any actual transit. MBTA riderships down mostly because of remote work and well, the T sucks.
I’m afraid of crossing the street….
…. after exiting the T.
But never afraid on the T.