Lawyer decides to dismiss case against suspect in Boston EMT stabbing

BY Grace Zokovich
Boston Herald

BOSTON — Five years after a woman allegedly stabbed a Boston paramedic, her lawyer has decided to dismiss her case and argued that it is unlikely she will ever regain the mental capacity to stand trial on her charges. actions during a hearing in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday.

“It's important for people to recognize that after five years of treatment in a psychiatric hospital, if they haven't been able to restore him to capacity, we have to close the case at this point,” he said. defense lawyer, Eduardo. Masferrer. “Charges can always be refiled later if she regains competency.”

Julie Tejeda, of East Boston, is accused of stabbing a female EMT seven times in the abdomen and legs and pepper-spraying her and her partner as they transported the suspect to an ambulance at Massachusetts General Hospital for a wellness check in July 2019.

Tejeda, who has been treated at Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain for many years, has not yet been found “mentally competent” to stand trial on assault with a deadly weapon and other charges.

Masferrer asked the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice on Wednesday, meaning the Commonwealth could potentially take over the case if Tejeda is at some point found competent to stand trial. The judge declined to rule on the motion Wednesday, opting to reevaluate the situation once Tejeda's new medications take effect and he reviews his doctors' reports.

More than 30 local paramedics – with a large contingent of New York paramedics reporting having recently suffered the murders of their members – showed up with the victim in the courtroom Wednesday to show support for his colleague.

The paramedic who was stabbed was forced to stand down after the incident, paramedic representatives said, and still suffers mental and physical injuries from the incident.

BPD EMS union President Matthew Anderson said Wednesday's motion to dismiss was “not justice.”

“We are attacked every day,” Anderson said. “It’s a daily occurrence for us. And that's not good. All of our paramedics are there to support Elena, and also to say that it's not right and to defend us. And we need the court's help.

Tejeda was picked up by the ambulance in 2019 while suffering from delusions that then-Governor Charlie Baker was in love with her and was going to kill his wife, the defense said Wednesday. When she got into the ambulance, she broke down and pulled a knife out of her purse.

Masferrer argued that although Tejeda has made progress in her mental treatment by recognizing her past delusions, she continues to have new delusions and several doctors have not indicated that they expect her to regain her senses. SKILLS. After five years in detention, he said, the chances of her ever being fit to stand trial are “slim to none.”

“It’s not fair to let a case languish over and over for years and years without ever being solved,” Masferrer said. “It’s a stress, it’s a pressure that weighs on you. You need some sort of resolution.

The prosecution argued the case hasn't even reached the halfway point of his potential sentence for assault, or seven and a half years, and that Tejeda continues to modify his treatment plan and demonstrate improvement.

“Right now, my main goal today is to want to see Elena and make sure we show her support,” Boston EMS Chief James Hooley said, referring to the stabbing victim. “We will continue to show him our support.”

The case will return to Suffolk Superior Court on October 9.

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