No bail for armed robbery suspect

LYNN – A judge ordered a city man held without bail after police say the man was captured on video buying beer at a liquor store, then returning a few minutes later and robbing the store at gunpoint.”Store photos indicate the (suspect’s) clothes, footwear, physical stature are identical to those of the person who entered earlier,” Assistant District Attorney Shailagh Kennedy said Tuesday in Lynn District Court.But defense attorney Thomas Pierce said there was no way either the victims or police could identify a person who was masked.”The problem with the Commonwealth’s case is really in the name of the charge,” Pierce said. “There’s no possible way the victims in this or any case could establish the identity of the robber. The mask is covering his entire face.”Alphonzo Multrie, 28, of 653 Western Ave. #6, was arrested and charged with armed-and-masked robbery. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at Moultrie’s arraignment in Lynn District Court Tuesday.Police responded to Hines Liquors on Western Avenue at approximately 9:30 p.m. June 3 on a report of an armed robbery.The store owners told police, through a translator, that a black man entered the store, pointed a gun at them and told one of them to open the register, according to a police report by Officer Timothy Ferrari. The man stole $1,000, the victims told police.Police said that one of the owners told them the suspect may have been in the store minutes prior to the robbery.Police reported comparing photos and video of the robbery suspect and the customer who entered the store approximately 10 minutes prior to the crime and finding several similarities.”The observed pants and footwear are identical and the physical stature and gait are identical,” Ferrari reported. Police also noted the customer and the suspect exposed a similar, unique belt, according to the report.Police and the alleged victims identified the customer as Moultrie through a photo array, according to police reports.Kennedy said Moultrie had been charged with armed-and-masked robbery previously but the charges have been dismissed.She requested that Moultrie be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing at a later date when the alleged victims could testify.But Pierce said that rather than enhancing the Commonwealth’s case, the surveillance video “does damage.”In addition to the mask, the suspect’s “shirt is clearly different and he is wearing a hat,” Pierce said. He also argued the suspect displays no distinguishing characteristics that would identify him as the customer.Pierce requested the judge not allow a dangerousness hearing and that bail arguments be held.Judge Mary McCabe ordered Moultrie be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for June 18.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].