Lynn pair nabbed for robbery with shotgun

LYNN – Two local men are facing serious charges after they allegedly used an unlicensed sawed-off shotgun Thursday to rob a man of $60 on Union Street.The suspects then allegedly walked into the 7-Eleven store on Essex Street where the clerk noticed the gun and called police.When officers arrived at about 5:30 a.m., Matthew K. Quon, 18, of 420 Essex St., Lynn and Gary Elliott, 21, of Dorchester were found standing on the corner of Essex and Fayette streets.Police arrested the men and charged both of them with armed robbery, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, use of a firearm during a felony, possession of a firearm without a license and unlawful storage of a firearm. Elliott was also charged with possession of crack cocaine and marijuana.An officer found the weapon in a nearby snow bank as the men were taken into custody.Police were called to the store after a third unidentified man walked into the store and tried to make his way behind the counter. That same unidentified man was the victim of the earlier robbery on Union Street, police said.As the clerk tried to get the man to leave 7-Eleven, Quon and Elliot allegedly walked into the store and told the man to “relax.” At that time, the clerk noticed the handle of a gun sticking out of one of the men’s pants and called police.Police said that surveillance cameras at the 7-Eleven were not working at the time of the incident.In August, officials from 7-Eleven and the Lynn Police Department touted a new $12,000 video surveillance system at the Essex Street store, which would pipeline security video feeds directly into the police department. The 7-Eleven Corporation paid for the cameras to be installed in the Lynn store as well locations in Malden and Holyoke – identified as high-crime areas.Before the suspects made their way to the store, the earlier unidentified victim told police that Quon and Elliot robbed him as he stood in the hallway of an apartment building at 19 Union St. at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, police said.The suspects allegedly asked the man if he had any marijuana. When he told them no, they allegedly searched through his pockets as one of them flashed a gun.Quon was also arrested in Lynn on Feb. 13 for possession of crack cocaine and ecstasy.Court records show Elliot violated his probation by getting arrested on Thursday. He has a long criminal record, which includes an arrest for armed assault with intent to rob in July 2007 from Quincy District Court and another arrest by State Police in April 2007 for possession of marijuana and vehicle violations in Saugus, among others.Lynn District Court Judge Michael Lauranzano ordered both of the suspects held on $25,000 cash bail during their arraignments on Thursday.