Wheel man in Saugus robbery gets jail time

SALEM – A Medford man who admitted he was the wheel man during a holdup at a Saugus Walgreens in 2010 will serve two and one-half years in the House of Correction before being placed on probation for another three years.Kenneth Stoddard, 22, of 30 Windsor Road, Medford, changed his plea of innocent to guilty Monday in Salem Superior Court, pleading to accessory after the fact of robbery and negligent operation of a motor vehicle before Judge Timothy Q. Feeley.On the early evening of Aug. 14, 2010, Thomas J. Ryan, 32, of Peabody, and Jorge R. Delvalle, 32, of Reading, walked into the Walgreens Pharmacy, located at 1228 Broadway, on Route 1, in Saugus while Stoddard, who had driven them there, parked the black Mitsubishi Lancer getaway car across the street at a sub shop parking lot and waited for the them.Ryan, wielding a knife, demanded money from the store clerk. But when the clerk refused, Ryan grabbed the cash register drawer and the two holdup men fled from the store. They ran across the street and jumped into the Mitsubishi with the cash register drawer and knife and fled from the scene with Stoddard at the wheel.Stoddard got off at the Walnut Street exit. A police chase clocked the Mitsubishi going speeds up to 60 mph as it crossed over lines and drove through stop signs on a public road, stated Assistant District Attorney James P. Gubitose.Eventually Stoddard lost control of the Lancer and it smashed into a home at 226 Walnut St., in Lynn.Saugus Trooper Stephen McCarthy was immediately at the scene and helped apprehended the suspects. McCarthy received a citation from the Saugus Board of Selectman for the role he played in the apprehension of the holdup men.Police recovered $721 in cash and $17.50 in change from Ryan. A folding knife was also found inside the vehicle, police said.Gubitose asked for a state prison punishment of two to three years with probation while defense lawyer Thomas Pierce asked for probation based on Stoddard?s “scant” record and strong family ties. Pierce emphasized to Feeley that Stoddard is a “good probation candidate,” while adding that his recommendation is an “appropriate sentence.”While on probation, Stoddard will be evaluated for substance abuse treatment and counseling as deemed appropriate by probation as well as random drug screenings.He also was ordered to stay away from the Walgreens Pharmacy as part of the conditions of his probationary term.The judge credited Stoddard the six days he spent in jail in lieu of bail on the case.Ryan and Delvalle pleaded to their role in the armed robbery last week and received state prison terms with probation and probationary terms and were also ordered to stay away from Walgreens in Saugus.