SALEM — Nick Ashtar-Zadeh, a Dracut man alleged to have repeatedly driven a red Tesla over a front garden/mulch bed at a Swampscott temple and damaging its Star of David sculpture on June 30, pleaded not guilty in Salem Superior Court on Sept. 22.

He was arraigned in Courtroom K from Middleton Jail via Zoom after being indicted by an Essex County grand jury on Sept. 16.

The hearing revolved around questions about whether Ashtar-Zadeh could be released to a mental health treatment facility as a condition of his bail. This was something his attorney in district court had sought over the past few months. Superior Court Judge John C. Fraser agreed to the condition of Ashtar-Zadeh entering and completing the Pyramid Healthcare residential treatment program in Concord if he makes bail, which was set at $3,000 cash. Ashtar-Zadeh, 25, was warned that if he commits another offense while out on bail, he could be held up to 90 days.

Ashtar-Zadeh had been in custody since he was arrested on a straight warrant by Saugus police on July 6, days after the early morning incident that damaged the temple’s grounds. His arrest in the Swampscott case triggered his bail being revoked from a separate alleged theft of computers in Lawrence District Court toward the end of May.

Last week, Ashtar-Zadeh pleaded not guilty to charges of injury to a church/synagogue over $5,000, malicious destruction of property over $1,200 and a civil rights violation. The injury to a synagogue and malicious destruction of property charges are both felonies, and the civil rights violation is a misdemeanor.

Ashtar-Zadeh had been facing these charges in Lynn District Court, along with a charge of property damage to intimidate. The indictment by the Essex County grand jury moves the case from District to Superior Court, where the defendant could face a lengthier sentence in state prison if convicted.

Ashtar-Zadeh’s lawyer, Committee for Public Counsel Services attorney Marcus Kuhs, told his client the case in District Court would be resolved that day.

During the hearing on Sept. 22, Essex County Assistant District Attorney Kaitlyn Bastarache outlined the June 30 incident. She alleged Ashtar-Zadeh repeatedly drove over the flower/mulch bed at the front of the temple and into the Star of David sculpture at Congregation Shirat Hayam on Atlantic Avenue. The incident, which happened around 1 a.m., caused damage to the sprinkler system and sculpture.

Swampscott police were able to identify the car Ashtar-Zadeh was allegedly driving using surveillance footage and law enforcement cameras from Lynn and Revere.

The red Tesla the defendant had been driving was registered to his mother, who lives in Dracut, according to the police. Bastarache said police were also able to pinpoint the defendant’s cellphone signal at the synagogue at the time of the incident. At the time of his arrest, the car Ashtar-Zadeh was driving had significant front-end damage consistent with the incident, she said.

Bastarache asked the judge to order the defendant held on bail. She noted his bail had been revoked from the case involving the theft of computers from a lawyer’s office in Lawrence. Ashtar-Zadeh had been out on bail for a few weeks before being charged in the Swampscott case.

In addition, the prosecutor said Ashtar-Zadeh had previously served six months in prison for a federal wire fraud case, for which he had been serving probation for two years. He had been on probation for less than six months when he was charged in the Lawrence larceny case. Bastarache also noted Ashtar-Zadeh had out-of-state ties, and she said he was a potential flight risk.

The malicious destruction of property charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison while the injury over $5,000 to a church/synagogue charge carries up to a five year prison sentence, she said.

Ashtar-Zadeh’s attorney, Kuhs, presented the judge with a mental health evaluation that had been part of the federal case.

He asked that his client be released on personal recognizance to the attend the mental health treatment program. He disagreed with the prosecutor that his client was a flight risk, saying he has been showing up to court dates, and there were underlying circumstances to the incident.

Kuhs said the person shown in the surveillance video at the synagogue was going through a mental health crisis, that the mental health evaluation showed his client was suffering from Bipolar I disorder, and that he was a high-functioning autistic person.
Kuhs said conditions of Ashtar-

Zadeh’s federal custody would allow him to enter treatment, so it made sense for the federal and state custody conditions to mirror one another. The attorney noted the revocation of his bail in the Lawrence case expired on Oct. 7. The judge ordered that Ashtar-Zadeh enter and complete the mental health program as a condition of his bail. Θ