Man accused of stabbing girlfriend with box cutter held without bail

Jared Coimbra, 29, is led into Lowell District Court on Friday morning for a dangerousness hearing. Coimbra is facing assault and battery charges for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend in the chest with a box cutter. Following the hearing, Judge John Coffey decided Coimbra was a threat to the community and ordered he be held without bail. (Aaron Curtis/Lowell Sun)

Jared Coimbra, accused of stabbing his girlfriend in the chest with a box cutter on March 24, appeared in Lowell District Court for a dangerousness hearing on Friday. (Aaron Curtis/Lowell Sun)

Jared Coimbra, accused of stabbing his girlfriend in the chest with a box cutter on March 24, appeared in Lowell District Court for a dangerousness hearing on Friday. (Aaron Curtis/Lowell Sun)

Jared Coimbra, right, and his attorney, John Kittredge, left, appear for a dangerousness hearing in Lowell District Court on Friday. Coimbra, accused of stabbing his girlfriend in the chest with a box cutter on March 24, was ordered by Judge John Coffey to be held without bail following the hearing. Kittredge argued during the hearing that Coimbra acted in self-defense. (Aaron Curtis/Lowell Sun)

LOWELL — The man accused of stabbing his girlfriend in the chest with a box cutter during an argument over allegations of infidelity will remain behind bars for at least the next four months as his case progresses in court.

The decision to hold Jared Coimbra, 29, without bail came during a 58A dangerousness hearing in Lowell District Court on Friday, where Judge John Coffey determined there would be no conditions of Coimbra’s release that would guarantee the safety of the alleged victim or the public.

Coimbra was arraigned on March 24 on the charges of domestic assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the day after he allegedly stabbed his 42-year-old girlfriend while inside a tent the homeless couple shared in the Highlands neighborhood, according to Lowell Police reports.

“This was a serious stabbing,” Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Andrew Mange said during Friday’s hearing. “By the admission of the defendant, it was because he was angry that she was potentially cheating on him.”

Coimbra’s attorney, John Kittredge, downplayed the seriousness of the violent episode, noting the alleged victim’s stab wound was nonlife-threatening. Kittredge told Coffey during the hearing that the box-cutter blade used by his client was approximately a half-inch long.

Kittredge added the stabbing “may not have been intentional” and that “it may in fact have been in self-defense.”

The defense attorney requested Coffey release Coimbra from custody on several conditions, including he not possess any dangerous weapons, receive a mental health evaluation and regularly report to the Probation Department. Kittredge also suggested the issuance of a stay-away order, though he said Coimbra has no desire to contact the alleged victim.

According to Kittredge, the alleged victim had attempted to contact Coimbra at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction.

“He notified the authorities and said he did not want to have any communications with her,” Kittredge told Coffey.

If Coimbra were to be released, Kittredge said he would go back to his homeless camp, situated along the train tracks, near the Gallagher Intermodal Transportation Center, on Thorndike Street.

During his rebuke of Kittredge’s commentary, Mange insisted to Coffey that there would be no conditions of Coimbra’s release that would assure the public’s safety.

The prosecutor referenced a report from the Methuen Police Department, which he said states Coimbra was convicted on assault charges after he threatened a past intimate partner with a knife, by “holding it to her face.”

“This represents a pattern of behavior towards women in which he is involved which has now escalated to a stabbing,” Mange said.

Other charges on his Board of Probation record, according to Mange, show he had been charged with obstruction of justice and intimidating a witness. Mange added Coimbra also has a “history of restraining orders.” Also, at the time of his latest arrest, Coimbra had multiple warrants out for his arrest.

After hearing the arguments, Coffey sided with the prosecution, deeming Coimbra a threat to the community. As a result of the decision, Coimbra will remain in custody until at least July 28.

Coimbra is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on April 28.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis

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