‘I know I am on drugs’: Repeat offender accused of threatening South Station commuter with needle

BOSTON — A man with a 19-page arrest record is accused of threatening a woman with a hypodermic needle outside South Station.

The scary confrontation happened this week in broad daylight at a Silver Line bus stop.

Details announced by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office are adding to on-going safety concerns at the busiest of all stations in the MBTA network.

32-year-old Marquis Alexander reportedly raised the syringe after asking the commuter for the time.

Police said she did not respond, and Alexander stated, “I know I am on drugs, but you can still talk to me.”

According to police, he then held up the needle and said, “If I stab you with this needle full of blood.”

The woman immediately left the scene, and reported the incident to an MBTA police officer.

Police quickly caught up with Alexander and ordered him to drop the needle.

Officers searched Alexander and recovered two other needles, a silver gum wrapper containing a brown substance believed to be heroin, and a clear plastic bag that officers believed to contain crushed narcotic pills.

“I always see people who are homeless, people who are drug addicts, sitting at the station right there, just doing drugs right in front of people,” said Channelle Elad.

Elad regularly waits for the bus at the same stop on Essex Street where the woman was threatened.

She said she’s been noticing more and more homeless and people with substance use disorder gathering inside and outside South Station.

“Sometimes you don’t even want to be bothered, and they come up to you,” said Elad. “Since they kicked a lot of them off Mass Ave, they’ve been dispersing around.”

Alexander has a board of probation record dating back to 2003 and has been convicted of numerous violent and drug distribution offenses out of Boston, Brockton, and Quincy.

“Personal safety and security of place are our goals for all residents and visitors to Boston, whether they’re walking to work, shopping, sitting in a restaurant or waiting at a bus stop,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “We know that repeat offenders can have a pronounced role in degrading neighborhood quality of life, and we will continue our focus on holding them accountable.”

Alexander appeared in court this week on charges of assault with hypodermic, possession of heroin (subsequent offense) and possession of a class E drug (subsequent offense).

He is scheduled to return to Boston Municipal Court Central on June 5th for a probable cause hearing.

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