MELROSE — The Melrose Police Department announces the arrest of a suspect following an alleged hammer attack at a construction site last month.
JEREMIAH RHODES, AGE 32, whose last known address was in PLYMOUTH, was arrested and charged with:
- Assault to Murder
- Assault and Battery With a Dangerous Weapon (Hammer)
- Assault and Battery
RHODES was apprehended today by Brockton Police on a warrant for his arrest stemming from an incident in Melrose last month.
On Tuesday, Aug. 3, at 7:51 a.m. Melrose Police were dispatched to 87 Essex St. for a report of an assault. While en route, police learned the suspect had fled in a black Nissan and that the victim had escaped to the Dill’s Court parking lot nearby.
The victim was subsequently transported to an area hospital with head injuries resulting from being struck with a hammer.
Responding officers immediately began an investigation, through which they determined that the victim had been attacked in a stairwell at 87 Essex St. — an active construction site. Investigators determined that the victim and the suspect, later identified as RHODES, had been working at the construction site when the assault occurred following a disagreement between the two.
Following a continued investigation, a warrant for RHODES’ arrest was obtained and he was subsequently taken into custody today in Brockton after he was located at a residence there. RHODES was then taken into custody by Melrose Police with the support of Brockton Police.
Melrose Police detectives investigated the case in consultation with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts State Police, Stoughton Police and Brockton Police.
RHODES was subsequently transported to Malden District Court, where he is expected to be arraigned this afternoon.
These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
###
