Police: Second man wanted in Brayton Avenue machete attack arrested after short foot chase

FALL RIVER Fall River police arrested Danny Nieves, 38, early Wednesday, Oct. 28, the second man wanted in the Oct. 15 machete attack at the homeless encampment on Brayton Avenue, the department said. Both men charged in the attack are now in custody, police said.

Members of the department's CAST Team found Nieves in the early morning hours, according to a post on the Fall River Police Department's Facebook page. He tried to run from officers, and after a brief foot chase they took him into custody without further incident, police said.

Nieves was wanted on warrants charging assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery, the same two charges his co-defendant, Jason Ramalho, 43, faces. The CAST Team arrested Ramalho on Friday, Oct. 23, police said.

Where the case stands in court

We will add Nieves's court date, his plea and any bail once the court record or the district attorney's office confirms them.

Ramalho was arraigned in Fall River District Court the day of his arrest, pleaded not guilty and was held on bail of $75,000 surety bond or $7,500 cash, the Fall River Reporter reported, citing court records. A probable cause hearing for him is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, the outlet reported. The Fall River Reporter listed his age as 39. Both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

How police built the case

Patrol Bureau officers responded to the attack on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 15, and the Major Crimes Division ran the investigation that identified the two men, police said. The CAST Team made both arrests. In Wednesday's post, the department thanked community members who shared its earlier post and passed along information.

A man was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with injuries to his head after the attack, the Fall River Reporter reported. He has not been publicly identified.

What the charges carry

Under state law, the basic charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 10 years in state prison or up to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Armed robbery is punishable by up to life in state prison or any term of years. The law defines it as assaulting someone while armed with a dangerous weapon and taking money or property from that person.

The two charges also differ in which court can hear them. The law that sets what district courts may hear lists assault and battery with a dangerous weapon among the offenses they share with the Superior Court, along with felonies carrying no more than five years in state prison. Armed robbery is not on that list.

What a probable cause hearing is

At a probable cause hearing, the court examines the complainant and the prosecution's witnesses under oath, in the presence of the defendant, on the material facts of the charge, under Chapter 276, Section 38 of the General Laws. The defense may then call its own witnesses, and a defense lawyer may question the prosecution's witnesses. The same section says a defendant who has the right to be charged by grand jury indictment and chooses a probable cause hearing instead gives up that right.

What comes next

Our Oct. 24 story reported Ramalho's arrest and the warrant for Nieves, and our explainer walks through how an arrest on a warrant reaches a courtroom.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.