Malden man allegedly smashed windshields with bat in traffic dispute, injuring toddler

A Malden man is charged with backing into a vehicle and then smashing its front and rear windshields, injuring a 1-year-old inside, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Clifford Jones, 66, is set to appear in court on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing. He faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child under 14, malicious destruction of property, possession of a class D substance, selling unstamped cigarettes, and selling cigarettes without a license after the incident.

Boston police received a report of a possible hit-and-run in the area near Camden Street in the South End around 6:15 a.m. on July 18, according to a statement from Hayden’s office. Officers learned that the alleged victim was driving after the suspect near Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street. The victim flagged down police and pointed them in the suspect’s direction. 

The victim said he and the suspect, who police later identified as Jones, had both gotten out of their vehicles after Jones backed into him. According to the victim, Hayden said, they began arguing and then Jones started smashing the victim’s windshields. 

Glass shattered onto the victim’s 1-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the backseat, Hayden said. Boston EMS examined the child and the scene and later took her to Boston Medical Center to be treated for lacerations and glass contamination.

Police said Jones told them that after he bumped into the victim’s vehicle, the victim began screaming at him that his child was inside. Jones said he fled out of fear for his safety, and that the victim chased him for several blocks. 

Witnesses said they saw Jones smashing the victim’s windshields, and reported that after the accident, the cars sped the wrong way down one-way streets and ran red lights as they chased each other.

Police reported recovering an aluminum bat at the scene. They also reported finding nicotine and THC cartridges, packages of marijuana and “hundreds” of packs of cigarettes with New Hampshire tax stamps in Jones’ vehicle. Jones was arraigned on the same day and held on $7,500 bail.

“This was a terrifying sequence of events for the victim and for the victim’s child. It’s tragic that such a young child witnessed this and sustained injuries severe enough to be hospitalized,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “Minor motor vehicle accidents happen all the time. But to react with such violence, and with no hesitation in placing a child in danger, is intolerable.”

Jones has an “extensive” record in Massachusetts and out-of-state, according to Hayden’s office.

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