Lynn man pleads innocent to armed robberies, remains held

SALEM – A Lynn man who is facing three potential life sentences for robbing the Essex Street Market three times, remains held at the Middleton Jail without bail after pleading innocent.Joshua James Cunningham, 26, of 111 Marianna St., appeared Wednesday morning in Salem Superior Court before Judge Garry Inge, pleading innocent to three indictments for armed robbery while masked.Assistant District Attorney Jean M. Curran asked Inge to keep the suspect held behind bars without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, which the judge agreed to.Curran said she and defense lawyer Christopher Norris had agreed to continue the hearing until March 9The charges lodged against Cunningham arise out of three incidents in Lynn last fall where he allegedly robbed the Essex Street Market, located at 99 Essex St., three times beginning on Oct. 2 when he walked into the store with a scarf covering his face at about 6:30 p.m., brandishing a knife and demanding cash.Nearly four weeks later, on Oct. 24, the suspect allegedly returned to the market at around 4:30 p.m. brandishing a knife. He reportedly was wearing a bandanna and a scarf to conceal his identity and left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash.Then, on Dec. 14, authorities say Cunningham went back to the store and again at knife point he stole $80 from the cash register. But as he was exiting the store, the very brave female store clerk tried to ward off the robber who eventually fled.All three holdups were captured on the store’s surveillance camera, police said.