Lynn sub shop robber gets 1-8 years

SALEM – A Lynn man who admitted he tried to rob money from a fast-food establishment “after falling off the wagon,” will serve one to eight years in prison.Mark R. Amico, 39, of 100 Willow St., changed his plea to guilty Thursday morning in Salem Superior Court, admitting to a charge of assault with attempt to rob before Judge David A. Lowy.Prosecutor Karen H. Hopwood said she was prepared to show at trial that in the early morning hours of Jan. 16 Amico walked into George?s Roast Beef at 126 Broad St. in Lynn with a bag over his hand. He walked up to the female at the cash register and said to the employee, “Give me your money or I?ll shoot you.”The employee was so fearful and shaking she was unable to open the cash register, Hopwood emphasized.Another employee saw what was happening and came over as Amico repeated his demands.In the meantime, patrons inside the establishment realized the situation, lunged at Amico and held him onto the floor until police arrived.Hopwood urged the judge to send Amico to prison for at least four years based on the facts of the case and record of other assaultive behavior while pointing out that in 1994 Amico was convicted of an armed robbery in Lynn.Amico?s attorney Neil Hourihan pleaded for leniency, asking the judge to impose the one-to-eight-year penalty. He acknowledged that his client was a drug addict in the early 90s and had “fallen off the wagon” when this incident occurred.He said he was “blind, high and drunk,” at the time of the incident, while pointing out that his client has had “long periods of sobriety,” but needs a treatment program so that this conduct doesn?t happen again.Although Amico has no probationary term with conditions when he gets out of prison because of the sentence, Hourihan said he will be on parole supervision, which enforces conditions and “hopefully he will turn his life around.”The judge credited Amico the 61 days he has spent in jail awaiting trial.