Peabody woman indicted for robbery

SALEM – A Peabody woman caught toting a gun during a Lynn robbery on Western Avenue last month has been indicted by an Essex County grand jury.Christine DeGenova, 25, of 15 Bourbon St., stands charged with armed robbery while masked and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.According to reports, it was just before 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 when Lynn police officers John Harkness and William Rogers were on patrol outside the 7-Eleven Store at 50 Western Ave., when a call came in concerning a robbery in progress at the convenience store.When the officers rushed inside they spotted the robber, wearing large dark sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt over the head, wielding a handgun.As police wrestled to take the robber into custody, a struggled ensued and a bunch of money – about $620 in cash – flung out of the robbers hands and the .22 caliber revolver was freed from the robber?s hands.It was not until her sunglasses came flying off and she yelled out that police realized the would-be-robber was female.The indictments now move the case from Lynn District Court, where she pleaded not guilty, to Salem Superior Court, where DeGenova will be re-arraigned within a few weeks.In the meantime, she remains held in custody in lieu of $75,000 cash bail at Framingham State Prison for Women.DeGenova faces a potential life sentence in state prison if convicted on the armed robbery while masked charge, and up to five years in prison on each of the charges of assault with a dangerous weapon.Assistant District Attorney Michael P. Hickey is prosecuting the case.