Pair confess to Saugus armed robbery, get prison time

SALEM – A Peabody man and a Reading resident who confessed to stealing a cash register with cash inside from a Saugus Walgreen?s at knifepoint last year received state prison terms and probation.Thomas J. Ryan, a 32-year-old apprentice electrician, of 16 Longwood Ave., Peabody, and Jorge R. Delvalle, 32, of 423 South St., Reading, each pleaded guilty Monday to armed robbery before Judge Timothy Q. Feeley in Salem Superior Court.Ryan also pleaded to assault with a dangerous weapon on a 60-year-old man and Delvalle pleaded to assault and battery in connection with the case.Ryan was sentenced to serve not less than three and one-half and not more than four and one-half years in state prison to be followed by three years of probation.Delvalle received four to five years in state prison with two years of probation upon his release from prison.Assistant District Attorney James P. Gubitose said the charges arise out of an incident just before 7 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2010 when the two men walked into the Walgreen?s Pharmacy, located at 1228 Broadway, on Route 1 in Saugus.Ryan brandished a knife as he demanded that the 21-year-old store clerk open the cash draw. When the clerk refused, Ryan grabbed the cash register and swung it at a 60-year-old customer who tried to stop him.Delvalle, who was present during the robbery, pushed the elder man into the store carts as the two holdup men fled and jumped into a black Mitsubishi Lancer, with a third man at the wheel.Quick-responding police caught up with the suspects as they sped through Saugus into Lynn at upwards of 60 mph.At some point the alleged driver, Kenneth Ray Stoddard, 22, of Medford, lost control and smashed into a home at 226 Walnut St.A sun room, part of a living room and the home?s foundation were damaged as a result of the crash, but no one was injured inside the home although the suspects suffered multiple injuries from the crash, police said.Police say $721 in cash and $17.50 in change were found on Ryan. A folding knife was also found inside the vehicle, police said.Gubitose asked for a longer punishment of at least five years in state prison and probation for each man, saying it is an “appropriate sentence,” not only because of the facts and circumstances of the case, but because both men have rather lengthy records. He also told Feeley that both victims were aware of the plea and chose not to be present and address the court.Michael A. Contant, defense attorney for Ryan, said his client grew up in Everett and has had drug issues for the last 10 years, adding that Ryan had only one incident of violence on his record with mostly motor vehicle offenses. He asked for a three-year sentence with probation for Ryan.Jennifer B. Koiles, the attorney for Delvalle, told Feeley that her client has family support but also some personal issues and no record of violence.She asked the judge to consider three and one-half years in prison, pointing out that Delvalle understands he has to take responsibility because he was there although he was not the primary aggressor.The two men were ordered to stay away from the victims and Walgreen?s in Saugus by Feeley as part of their probationary terms.In addition, they are to remain free from non-prescribed prescriptions, be evaluated for substance abuse treatment as deemed necessary and consent to random screenings as needed.The judge credited the two men each with 442 days.They were indicted by an Essex County grand jury in September 2010 and have been held in lieu of bail at the Middleton Jail since being arraigned.Stoddard, charged as an accessory after the fact and negligent operation of a motor vehicle in connection with the case, remains free pending the outcome of his case.