Man Arrested After Threatening People With Needle In Beverly

BEVERLY, MA -- A Stoneham man was scheduled to be arraigned in Salem District Court Monday morning after allegedly threatening to jab people with a hypodermic needle outside of a Beverly restaurant Saturday night. Matthew Rich, 31, was being held on $10,000 bail on four charges of assault with a deadly weapon, felony breaking and entering in the daytime, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, three counts of armed carjacking, three counts of attempting to commit a crime and a count of assault and battery.

Beverly Police were called to Acapulco's Restaurant around 6:15 on Saturday after getting reports of a a man attacking people with a syringe and attempting to steal a car. When police arrive, Rich had locked himself in a car and was going through the glove compartment. Several witnesses told responding officer they had been threatened or attacked by the man in the car. No one was stabbed with the needle or otherwise injured, police said.

Witnesses told Rich had jumped into a car and threatened a woman and her son with the needle. When the two escaped with the keys, he moved onto another car. When he could not get that car started, Beverly Police said, he moved onto a third car, where he held the needle to the driver's neck and threatened her. The woman broke free and called 911.

Rich allegedly tried another car but the man in that care was able to lock his doors. Rich then began running around the parking lot, trying doors in an effort to find an unlocked car. Rich refused police orders to get out of the car. An officer found the car's owner in the restaurant and returned to the parking lot with the keys. Once the car was unlocked, Rich was arrested without incident.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).