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As police were searching for Ravizza, the 26-year-old with blond hair who a witness described as having the looks of a “1980s rock star” was allegedly in the midst of a stabbing spree in Massachusetts, where he allegedly attacked four girls inside a Braintree movie theater and later two employees at a Plymouth McDonald’s.
The six victims were taken to area hospitals for treatment and were recovering Tuesday.
After the McDonald’s stabbing, police pursued Ravizza as he fled in his Porsche SUV to Cape Cod, where he crashed and was taken into police custody in Sandwich.
On Tuesday, Ravizza was ordered held without bail and committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for a mental health evaluation at his arraignment in Plymouth District Court. He faces charges relating to the McDonald’s stabbings, which allegedly followed a dispute over his order of two cheeseburgers, small fries, and a McFlurry, according to police.
Ravizza is charged with one count of assault to murder, two counts of assault and battery, and indecent exposure, according to prosecutors. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.
Police in Braintree also obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday charging Ravizza with four counts of assault with intent to murder and four additional counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection to the attack at the movie theater.
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State Police in Connecticut said Ravizza is also facing criminal charges in that state but did not identify them.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz praised police who responded to a chaotic scene at the McDonald’s and the witnesses who provided information that helped lead to Ravizza’s arrest.
“I think, obviously, when you have a situation where somebody is allegedly just stabbing individuals with knives because they don’t get what they want at a drive-through restaurant, that’s an issue that needs to be dealt with,” Cruz said after the hearing.
Sean O’Neill, Ravizza’s public defender, declined to comment.
The stabbings Ravizza allegedly carried out in Braintree and Plymouth came about six weeks after he allegedly attacked his father at the family’s home in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard, according to law enforcement. Ravizza was charged with assault and battery on a family or household member. His father said Ravissa had suffered a “mental break” and attacked him, according to a police report.
Ravizza touted a glamorous lifestyle online.
A website for the firm Ravizza Jones says the company is “a leading global digital marketing & social media management agency” and Ravizza is its founder and chief executive. A state filing shows Ravizza Jones Productions LLC was incorporated in West Tisbury on Jan. 16, with Jared Ravizza Jones listed as manager.
Attempts to reach Ravizza’s family were unsuccessful Tuesday. The family of Feldman, the man who was killed in Connecticut, also could not be reached.
Charlie Brashears, 54, said he’s lived on Maritone Lane in Deep River, which is about a 35 minute drive east of New Haven, for nearly a decade. The dead-end road has only four houses, one of which was being rented out as a vacation home to two men, Bruce and Jared, Brashears said, though he could not recall either man’s last names.
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Brashears said the men had been staying on Maritone Lane for around two weeks, during which time he only spoke to Bruce.
“He was always trying to talk about money. . . . [Bruce was] quasi-soliciting me for what he called some investments,” Brashears said Sunday night. “I never met Jared. I honest to God didn’t think he existed.”
Brashears said the only sign that two people were staying in the home was that there were usually two cars parked in the driveway.
In court Tuesday, a psychologist, Kimberly Bistis, testified that Ravizza has had difficulty with his mental health for about two years.
Those issues appeared to have culminated in what appeared to be a serious thought disorder with signs and symptoms of an “active psychotic illness,” and delusions, according to Bistis.
Ravizza believes his family is involved with the Mafia, she said, and thinks “he is being controlled by multiple sources outside of him, which have made him at times angry and upset,” Bistis testified.
During Ravizza’s meeting with Bistis, he could answer some basic questions about the nature of the charges against him, she said. But he would also burst into tears suddenly, was distractible, and had difficulty staying on topic, she said.
She recommended Ravizza undergo an evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.
“Given the extreme delusional nature of his beliefs, he does not demonstrate the rational capacity to work with his attorney on behalf of his own defense in the present matter before the court,” Bistis testified.
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The stabbings at the AMC Braintree 10 movie theater were reported around 6 p.m. when a man, later identified as Ravizza, allegedly walked past the ticket counter and into a theater, where he attacked four girls between 9 and 17 years old as they were watching the film “If” and then ran out.
According to police reports, Ravizza entered the drive-through of the McDonald’s in his black Porsche around 7 p.m. Saturday and briefly got out to urinate. A witness said she shrugged at him, as if to say, “What do you think you are doing?” police said. Ravizza told the woman, “I got to pee,” according to the report.
He then got back into his car, pulled forward, got back out to continue urinating, and gave the woman “the middle finger,” police said.
Ravizza had a “big expression” on his face with his eyes wide open, the witness told police. She said the look reminded her of Jack Nicholson’s character in the film “The Shining,” the report said.
When he reached the window, Ravizza got into an argument about his food order with a 28-year-old male employee, the report said.
During the argument, Ravizza demanded the employee check to make sure the order was correct, tried to grab the bag, and stabbed the worker in the forearm when he tried to pull it away, the male employee told police, according to the report.
The worker fell, then ran to the manager’s office, where he put a bandage on his arm, the report said. The worker later told police he heard someone yell out: “Stop!” and “Don’t do this!”
A woman working in the restaurant heard the commotion and her colleague told her Ravizza had a problem with the order. She then saw Ravizza lunge at her co-worker, and saw the employee bleeding after the attack, she told police.
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Ravizza drove away, then came back and parked at the rest area, she said. When he walked into the restaurant, Ravizza wore a jacket without a shirt, and had a large knife in his hand, according to the report.
The worker “yelled at Jared Ravizza to stop and screamed for help,” the report said. Ravizza then allegedly stabbed a 21-year-old woman working at the McDonald’s on her first shift, the report said.
The employee who saw the attacks on her co-workers chased Ravizza out to the car, where Ravizza turned around, smiled, and gave her the “OK” hand gesture, the report said.
Correspondent Daniel Kool and Jeremy C. Fox of the Globe staff contributed to this report
John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com. Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.
