Lynn pair charged with armed robbery

LYNN – Two Lynn cousins were ordered held during a hearing in Lynn District Court Monday in connection with a string of armed robberies they allegedly committed in Salem and Lynn, according to prosecutors.Police arrested Wilky Gomez-Savinon, 26, and Francisco Alberto, 21, both of Lynn, early Sunday morning and charged them with armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, to wit a gun, and receiving stolen property, according to police. Alberto also had an additional armed robbery charge.Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia said during the hearing Monday that police stopped the two men in a red sport utility vehicle shortly after an armed robbery near the Hess station on Washington and Liberty streets. Police searched the car, which Bellavia said matched witness descriptions, and found a silver chain stolen in the robbery, several wallets and cell phones, and what appeared to be a black handgun, which later turned out to be a BB gun, according to Bellavia.Bellavia also said a “large purse” found in the car contained the identification of a robbery victim in Salem.According to court documents, two victims were walking home from the Hess station after buying cigarettes when a red SUV pulled up next to them on Western Avenue and Barrett Street and the passenger got out and pointed what the victims described as a black handgun.The victims told police the suspect demanded their money, but when one of them told him they had no money, the report says the suspect took a silver chain and the new pack of cigarettes and then struck one of the victims on the right side of his head with the handgun.The report states the driver of the SUV then yelled out the window to “check the female,” who, according to the report, pleaded not to be hurt because she had no money and was pregnant.The two victims were able to see the car?s license plate number, which was broadcast to police in the area, according to the report.A short while after interviewing the victims, the report says police officers saw a red SUV fitting the description of the one involved with the robbery and pulled it over on South Common Street. The report states police noted the license plate was “very close” to what the victims had given as was the description of the passenger.The report states police found “what appeared to be a black handgun” in the storage pouch behind the front driver seat along with five cell phones, one Apple cell phone charger, one gold colored bracelet, two sweatshirts, one wallet containing identification for another man and an additional wallet with identification that contained several bank and credit cards, $103 in cash and a Charlie card. Police also recovered $101 in loose cash.?Because of the multiple cell phones and wallets and loose money that we discovered in the center console, we believed that we found evidence of previous larcenies,” said Lynn Police officer Michael McHale in the report.Bellavia requested bail be set at $7,500, while attorneys Benjamin Richard and George Abi-Esber requested bail between $500 and $1,000.Judge Stephen Abany set bail for Alberto, the alleged passenger, at $5,000 cash, while Gomez-Savinon, the alleged driver, was ordered held on $2,500 cash bail.Both men are due back in court on Aug. 28 for a probable cause hearing.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].