Saugus repeat offender Picardi arrested again

SAUGUS – A young man with a long criminal history was arraigned Tuesday in connection with a shoplifting incident on Route 1, police said.Michael Picardi, 20, of 8 Atlas Ave., Saugus, was arrested and charged with larceny over $250 on Monday.Picardi sparked an outrage when he wore a “Free Lodie” t-shirt at last October’s Columbus Day parade in Revere. Derek Lodie, 18, of Revere, remains charged in connection with the murder of Officer Daniel Talbot.Police arrested Picardi Monday afternoon following a brief car chase in Chelsea. Picardi was in a vehicle with three other men when it crashed and they tried to flee, police said.A short time earlier, an unidentified man allegedly grabbed at least six jackets from a rack at Work ‘N Gear in Saugus and ran out of the store. The suspect jumped into the same car that Picardi was allegedly caught trying to run away from later on.Police captured two of the four suspects. Michael M. Ringuette, 40, of 136 Brookline St., Lynn, was also arrested and charged with larceny over $250.Chelsea police tried to stop the car, a red Pontiac GrandAm, after Saugus police radioed a description of the vehicle to nearby communities, adding that the vehicle might be traveling southbound on Route 1.Picardi told a Saugus police officer that he was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle when the theft occurred and that he just wanted some money “to get high,” according to a police report. He said he had been smoking crack cocaine earlier in the day, police said.In October, Picardi’s mother, Heidi Picardi and stepfather Pat Starkey, were arrested after Starkey and Michael Picardi were confronted by parade watchers about the controversial t-shirt. A fight brewed while Starkey was wearing the t-shirt and a leather holster that contained a handgun.According to court records obtained in Lynn and Chelsea district courts, Picardi has attended at least 18 court arraignments in his life.He served one year in the Suffolk County House of Corrections for taking part in a brutal beating and robbery of a 49-year-old man in Revere in April 2005.His most recent stint in jail ended recently after he served time for a probation violation. In January, Picardi turned himself into police after a warrant for armed robbery was issued.Lynn District Court Judge Michael Lauranzano ordered Picardi held on $150 cash bail at his arraignment. A Lynn woman posted the money Tuesday.