Lynn 7-11 potato chip robber indicted

SALEM – A Lynn man who allegedly tried to rob the 7-Eleven store on Route 1 in Peabody at gunpoint, but stole a bag of chips instead of leaving with cash, was indicted Wednesday by an Essex County grand jury.Eric L. Davis, 27, of 182 Henry Ave., stands charged with confining and putting in fear, intimidation of a witness and larceny in a building.It was just before 10 p.m., on Jan. 1 when a man, later identified as Davis, walked into the 7-Eleven at 23 Newbury St., in Peabody, wielding what looked like a black automatic handgun.After Davis allegedly tried unsuccessfully to open the store?s cash register, he fled on foot after he grabbed a bag of potato chips.Peabody police responding to the scene tracked Davis to the Holiday Inn where they found him in one of the rooms under the covers of a bed.A witness from the convenience store identified Davis as the would-be-robber.The weapon reportedly turned out to be a pellet gun, police said.The indictments handed up by the grand jury now move the case from Peabody District Court, where Davis pleaded innocent, to Salem Superior Court, where he will be re-arraigned within a few weeks.In the meantime, he remains held in lieu of bail at the Middleton Jail.Assistant District Attorney Michael A. Patten is prosecuting the case for the commonwealth.Indictments are not an indication of guilt. Rather, a grand jury found sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial in Superior Court, allowing for a more severe punishment.