An unhinged suspect vandalized some of the city’s most-revered historical stops along the Freedom Trail, with a judge refusing to let him back out on the street.
Lawrence Hawkins, 46, of Boston, was arraigned Monday after leaving the alleged path of destruction overnight Saturday, including damage to the Holocaust Memorial and even Paul Revere’s grave.
Police arrested Hawkins at the Southampton Street shelter and charged him in multiple acts of vandalism after reviewing video surveillance that traced his alleged spree of destruction along sites closely aligned with the Freedom Trail.
Hawkins was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Monday morning, during which he rambled and was chastised by the judge several times. The judge ordered Hawkins to be evaluated by a doctor ahead of a dangerousness hearing and held the suspect on $22,500 bail.
Hawkins previously spent time in Bridgewater State Hospital and suffers from mental health and substance abuse disorders, lawyers said.
Police received an initial report of a breaking and entering at Charles Street South just before midnight on Saturday. Upon arrival, police found the front door smashed and a brick inside the business.
There was video surveillance from that incident and police broadcast the clip of the suspect.
Shortly after midnight, an officer reporting for duty arrived at his cruiser and found his front windshield smashed. Again, there was video of the suspect, and police broadcast a description.
Another report came in for a business damaged at Sudbury Street, again, officers found a broken window.
Following video surveillance of the area, police were able to observe further acts of vandalism including at the Holocaust Memorial, where they saw Hawkins throw an unknown object at the hallowed site, according to BPD.
At the site, they found a brick on the ground and damage to the sacred memorial.
Further damage, again in the form of smashed windows, was reported at Court Square and on Washington Street. More video surveillance was recovered showing the same suspect from prior incidents, according to police.
Hawkins was tracked and eventually seen entering the the shelter at 112 Southampton Street. A supervisor there confirmed he was inside and Hawkins was arrested at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Later, at around 10:30 Sunday morning, police received a report of numerous toppled graves and smashed headstones at the historic Granary Burying Ground in the area of Tremont and Bromfield.
Upon investigation, police found 14 gravestones pulled from the ground or smashed, including that of the revolutionary figure Paul Revere.
More destruction was found at the nearby King’s Chapel Burying Ground, including one tombstone completely wrenched from the ground.
Police again consulted video surveillance of the area and were able to observe a suspect matching Hawkins description.
The National Park Service has been notified of the investigation and damage at the historic settings.
Lawrence Hawkins, who seemed uninterested in court, is accused of leaving a trail of destruction. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)