Saugus man turns himself in after weeks on the run from police

REVERE-The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed that a local troublemaker is now in custody for armed robbery and other charges.Michael Picardi, 20, of 8 Atlas Ave., Saugus, is known for wearing a “Free Lodie” T-shirt at the Columbus Day Parade in Revere two days after the funeral of Daniel Talbot, the 30-year-old police officer shot and killed Sept. 29. At the time, the only person charged in connection with the murder was Derek Lodie, 17, of Revere, a friend of Picardi.As the Item first reported Jan. 29, an arrest warrant was issued for Picardi in connection with an armed robbery that occurred Jan. 21 outside the 7-Eleven store on North Shore Road.A police source says Lodie turned himself into police. Jake Wark, spokesperson for Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley, says Picardi attended a Chelsea District Court hearing Thursday for the alleged armed robbery and an unrelated breaking-and-entering case from December.During the robbery outside 7-Eleven, the victim told police he recognized Picardi because they spent time incarcerated together at the Suffolk County House of Corrections. Instead of a friendly hello, Picardi allegedly greeted the man by pulling out a knife and taking $80 cash.Wark says Picardi was soon apprehended and arraigned Thursday in Chelsea District Court, where a judge ordered him held on $5,000 cash bail.However, prosecutors successfully asked the judge to revoke Picardi’s bail because of pending charges from the breaking-and-entering case, which stemmed from an incident Dec. 12 at a Cooledge Street home.Picardi will stay in prison for at least 60 days, Wark said. Picardi is due back in court March 20 for both cases.Picardi and his parents caused uproar at the Oct. 8 parade after he and his stepfather, Pat Starkey, 32, of Saugus, were both found wearing a black T-shirt that said, “Free Lodie.”The same day, police removed a yard sign from outside a house in the Cooldege Street housing projects that also said, “Free Lodie.” The woman who put up the sign, Amanda MacNeil, 22, said Lodie was partying at her house the night of Talbot’s death.Police said the Columbus Day Parade confrontation ensued after a citizen became outraged when he noticed one of the men wearing the shirt. When an officer intervened, Starkey was found in possession of a handgun, which was strapped to his body in a leather holster.Starkey was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon, among other charges. Starkey’s wife and Picardi’s mother, Heidi Picardi, 35, was arrested for disorderly conduct and interfering with police.Michael Picardi has attended 17 court arraignments to date n his latest on Thursday. He’s been charged with armed robbery three separate times since January 2004, according to court records.