Crime & Safety

Swampscott Man Faces New Assault Charges

Earlier this year, Anthony McKay received a lot of media attention before and after assault charges against him were dropped for allegedly breaking a suspected thief's jaw. Now the 29-year-old faces assault and other charges in an unrelated case.

A Swampscott man drew wide media attention earlier this year is back in court for allegedly assaulting a relative and knocking the side rear-view mirror from his car.

Anthony McKay, 29, is charged with assault, malicious destruction of property, witness intimidation, and two counts of threatening people.

McKay allegedly became enraged over an exchange of family-related text messages, according to court documents.

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He allegedly broke the rear side-view mirror on the victim's car and threatened to kill him and his wife. The incident took place in Lynn, according to court records.

He was arraigned Thursday in Lynn District Court and ordered to return for a pretrial hearing next month.

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At his arraignment, the judge released the defendant with several conditions.

He must remain alcohol free, undergo random screening and have no contact with the victim or the victim's family.

As far as the other case goes, on Oct. 15, at 2 a.m, police responded to Cherry Street in Swampscott after Anthony McKay's wife reported that McKay had "caught the lady next door's boyfriend taking items out of (his) truck."

Responding officers found McKay holding Christian P. Johnson, 30, of 162 Union St., Lynn. Johnson was later arrested on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon (police baton), possessing a class A substance (heroin), attempting to commit a crime, disorderly conduct and possessing a knife over 2.5 inches.

Johnson had suffered a broken jaw in the incident and the jaw would need to be repaired with emergency surgery, according to court documents.

McKay supporters maintained that he was acting in self defense when he struck Johnson.

In January, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett decided against prosecuting McKay for assault on charges for the Oct. 15 incident.


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