Lynn man indicted for armed robbery

SALEM – A Lynn man who intended to plead guilty to weapon and ammunition possession charges but instead got arrested for allegedly robbing $350 from a Lynnfield Street Market last month has been indicted by an Essex County grand jury.Matthew David Griggs, 19, of 248 Lynnfield St., is now charged with armed robbery while masked in connection with the March holdup of the Lynnfield Street Market, located at 263 Lynnfield St. in Lynn.According to reports, it was around 5 p.m. on March 6 when Griggs allegedly walked into the local convenience store, wearing a mask that partly covered his face and wielding a large hunting knife.He ran behind the counter, reached into the register and grabbed $350 before running out and jumping into a gray vehicle.The store clerk told authorities even though the suspect’s face was somewhat covered, he recognized him as a patron who comes into the store frequently.Griggs apparently turned himself in to Lynn police a few hours after the holdup and gave a statement indicating he was the holdup man.Griggs also has firearm and ammunition charges pending in Superior Court stemming from his arrest on Nov. 21, 2009, when police say they caught him at Cook Street Playground with a sawed-off shotgun and illegal ammunition, allegations he has denied.Griggs had been free on $500 cash bail on the case and was scheduled for a possible plea earlier this month, but instead he got arrested for the holdup.He now faces a potential life sentence on the armed robbery while masked charge as well as a mandatory 18 months in jail on the sawed-off shot gun charge.Assistant District Attorney Michael Sheehan is prosecuting both cases for the state.Also indicted was Richard C. Thorne, 29, of 28 Veterans Memorial Drive, Peabody, charged with armed robbery in connection with the March 12 holdup at the Bank of America, located at 2 State St. in Lynn.According to reports, the robber, later identified as Thorne, walked into the branch bank on March 12 at 12:50 p.m., wearing a red ball cap and a red Boston T-shirt.The female bank teller told authorities the robber handed her a note that read “I got a gun and will use. Give me money and this note back. Wait 3 min to call police. This is no joke.”The very frightened clerk turned over an undetermined amount of cash and the holdup man left the bank but without the note.A few days later police were tipped by an anonymous caller who fingered Thorne as the robber and said Thorne had been bragging about the bank robbery.Police arrested him following an investigation.The indictment handed up now moves the case from Lynn District Court, where Thorne has pleaded innocent, to Salem Superior Court where he will be re-arraigned within a few weeks.In the meantime, Thorne remains held at the Middleton Jail on $25,000 cash bail following a bail review hearing last month in Superior Court where Judge John T. Lu slashed his bail in half from $50,000.Assistant District Attorney Jean M. Curran is prosecuting the case.Indictments are not an indication of guilt, rather it is a legal process that allows a case to be transferred from District Court to Superior Court allowing for a more severe punishment.