Somerville Man Charged In Broadway Beating: Police

SOMERVILLE, MA – A Somerville man faces assault charges stemming from an alleged beating on Broadway in the middle of the afternoon. Police responded to a report of a fight at the intersection of Broadway and School Street on Thursday, Oct. 26 around 3:23 p.m. Upon arrival, a man bleeding from the right side of his head told officers he was driving west on Broadway when he saw a white man, later identified as 36-year-old Nicholas Stiles, Jr., punching a "heavyset" black man repeatedly, according to the police report.

The man told officers he honked his horn and yelled out the window to try and get Stiles to stop, police said. Stiles allegedly told him to mind his own business and approached the man when he pulled over in an attempt to intervene. Stiles then allegedly yelled obscenities at the man and punched him. The man told police the two fell to the ground and began wrestling. Stiles allegedly attempted to reach for a knife on the ground, which was kicked to the side by another passerby.

At that point, Stiles fled westbound on Broadway, police said. The driver who intervened was treated for minor injuries.

Three witnesses standing near a bus stop, including the man who kicked the knife to the side, told police Stiles was yelling at passing drivers and got into the face of a "heavyset" black male, according to the police report. They told police Stiles allegedly punched the man and began beating him. The man ran from Stiles, who caught up to him and resumed the alleged attack. When Stiles and the passing driver began fighting, the man ran away toward Temple Street, the witnesses told police.

All three said Stiles had a knife in his hand but dropped it at some point during the fight with the motorist.

Officers found a woman who had filmed the altercation. Her video showed Stiles and the motorist on the ground wrestling and Stiles reaching for a knife, according to police. The witnesses described Stiles as a balding, short, white male wearing a flannel shirt. Police said they recognized the suspect in the video as Stiles, who is familiar to Somerville police.

While at the scene, police said Stiles walked toward them, screaming, "They are all lying. I didn't do anything." He was detained and became "increasingly agitated, yelling, swearing, and acting in a very tumultuous manner," police wrote in their report.

Stiles was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

Editor's Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Somerville Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a Massachusetts Patch police report.

Image via Renee Schiavone, Patch