LYNN – A Chelsea teen accused of robbing a Lynn man at gunpoint outside his home Monday night was arraigned Tuesday at Lynn District Court.Charged with armed robbery, Jermain Mattei, 17, of 65 Clark St., #3, was released on personal recognizance by Judge Albert Conlon under the condition that he stay away from and not have contact with the victim. He is due back in court March 1 for a probable cause hearing.Court documents show that Lynn police responded to a report of an armed robbery on Newhall Street around 5 p.m., where the victim said he was approached by a suspect in his driveway who held a gun to the back of his head. The suspect allegedly said, “Don’t make any noise and keep quiet” as he put his hands in the victim’s pants pockets, grabbing a wallet and a cellular phone.He then instructed the victim to walk into his apartment building, where the suspect followed and then ran out the front entrance, throwing an object into a snow bank and jumping into a waiting vehicle. The victim later told police that there were three other men inside the vehicle, which had either a Puerto Rican or Dominican Republic flag hanging from the rear view mirror. After relaying the license plate number to police, a description of the vehicle was broadcast to area departments and was tracked down by Chelsea police a short time later.Mattei later told police that two other men were with him at his house that afternoon when they decided to go to Medford to get their paychecks at Pizza Hut. After that, Mattei said one of the men bought a BB gun at Sports Authority for him and they drove to Lynn with the alleged intention of meeting up with a drug dealer so that they could steal his marijuana.Police say they believed the victim wasn’t being entirely truthful about the incident and decided to interview him again. During the second interview, the victim allegedly said he was contacted by a former co-worker at the Boston Globe and agreed to sell him marijuana. The victim initially claimed he was robbed of $40 worth of the drug, but later changed his story, saying the amount was more like $400, since it was an ounce of “high quality purple haze.”
