Man charged with South End parking-rage bat attack that showered 1-year-old in a car seat with glass, DA says

A Malden man faces charges that after he backed into a car on Camden Street in the South End he tried to finish an argument with the car's driver by getting out a baseball bat and smashing in the car's windshields, even as the driver yelled his young daughter was in the back seat, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports - adding the guy is also charged with selling cigarettes without a license.

Clifford Jones, 66, was arraigned earlier this month for an alleged attack outside 150 Camden St. in the South End, around 6:50 a.m. on July 18, the DA's office says.

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.

According to the DA's office, police found both parties in the area of Mass. Ave. and Tremont Street - after Jones fled, the victim drove after him.

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.

The DA's office didn't say if the victim's child remained in the back seat during the pursuit.

Jones was charged with 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, the DA's office says.

He was ordered held in lieu of $7,500 at his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court, the DA's office reports, adding he is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial conference on Tuesday.

Innocent, etc.