Suspect begs Lynn judge to send him to Cambridge

LYNN – A man begged a judge to simply hold him for Cambridge court; a change of tune a few days after the man allegedly broke into a stranger’s home while fleeing police to avoid a likely jail sentence in Cambridge.”Talk to your attorney; you could have turned yourself in,” Judge Matthew Machera said in Lynn District Court on Monday as the defendant leaned over the rail of the prisoner dock and begged Machera to not set bail but just send him to Cambridge.Fernando Martinez, 34, of 31 Roberts Road #1, Cambridge was arrested and charged with felony breaking-and-entering during the daytime; receiving a stolen motor vehicle; and two warrants.Kathryn McCallan, 30, was also arrested and charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle; and use of a motor vehicle without authority.A not guilty plea was entered for each of the defendants at their arraignments Monday in Lynn District Court.State Police were watching traffic on Commercial Street Friday when they randomly checked a passing vehicle and found it had been reported stolen from Peabody, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Lawrence Anthony reported.State police pulled over the vehicle and said that while the female driver was being arrested, the male passenger fled.A witness told a Lynn Police officer reporting to the scene that the suspect hopped the fence behind 170 S. Common Street and entered a nearby apartment. Police went to the apartment and knocked on the door.”(The occupant) seemed very frightened and was pointing to her right,” Lynn Police Officer David Spelta reported. “We asked if someone was in her house and she shook her head ?yes’ and was crying.”Police located and arrested Martinez. The resident told police she had heard something in her kitchen and found a stranger standing there when she went to investigate, Assistant District Attorney Shailagh Kennedy told the court.She requested $10,000 bail.Court-appointed Defense Attorney Joanne Hnat said McCallan and her mother had fought recently and the mother had threatened to report the car stolen. But McCallen told police she didn’t think her mother would follow through on the threat, Hnat said. She said Martinez panicked when police stopped the car. She explained that he had warrants for cases in Cambridge in which he expected to be sentenced to 18 months behind bars.”The reason he ran is obviously because he has these warrants with significant time over his head,” Hnat said.She asked that Martinez be held for Cambridge Court and that no additional bail be set, saying that was “all he wants.”Machera ordered $5,000 cash bail for the new charges and that Martinez be sent to Cambridge. He ordered McCallan released on her personal recognizance.Martinez is scheduled to return to Lynn District Court July 17.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].