Homeless Lynn pair charged with armed robbery

LYNN – A judge ordered $1,000 cash bail for each of two homeless men who allegedly robbed another homeless man at knifepoint in a camp on the waterfront Friday. The judge also ordered one of the defendants held without bail on prior charges and pending a hearing for allegedly violating probation.Gabriel R. Smith, 25, homeless of Lynn, was arrested and charged with armed robbery; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; malicious destruction of property +$250; and trespassing; at 6:45 p.m. Friday.David A Gaudet, 43, homeless of Lynn, was arrested and charged with armed robbery; and trespassing; at 6:21 p.m. Friday.Each appeared Monday in Lynn District Court where pleas of not guilty were entered on each defendant’s behalf.Police reported responding to the woods behind U-Haul on the Lynnway where the alleged victim told officers that two white men and a black man approached him and asked what was in his bags, Lynn Police Officer Shawn Hogan reported.The alleged victim said he told the men the bags contained only his clothes, and Smith then allegedly grabbed one of the bags and threw it into a small campfire. When the alleged victim tried to retrieve the bag, Smith threw a bike at him, then pulled out a large, red-handled knife and demanded the other bag, the alleged victim told police. The alleged victim said he ran.Police found a group matching the suspects’ description on the Garelick Farms property, and Smith and Gaudet were arrested after a brief chase, according to court documents.Police reported the alleged victim positively identified both defendants as involved in the assault, and Smith allegedly told police twice that he was the person who had robbed the alleged victim.Essex Assistant District Attorney Justin Edwards requested Smith be held on $25,000 cash bail and that his bail on a previous case be revoked. Probation officer William Norcross also requested Smith be held for an alleged probation violation. Norcross said the new charges were “almost identical” to the previous event in which Smith was charged.But court-appointed defense attorney John Ruehrwein said Smith insisted he was the robbery victim.Smith said he and his friends’ belongings started disappearing after the alleged victim visited Smith’s area of the campsite for food.”He said he was just trying to see if (the alleged victim) had his belongings,” Ruehrwein said. The attorney also noted police did not report recovering any knife. Ruehrwein requested his client be released on personal recognizance so he could return to living with his aunt.Court-appointed defense attorney Sandra Delgado requested Gaudet be held on $1,000 to $2,000 cash bail. Delgado said she recognized the seriousness of the crimes, but her client was never alleged in the police reports to have had any weapons.Judge Mary McCabe ordered $1,000 cash bail for each defendant and ordered Smith held without bail for up to 60 days on the previous charges and an alleged probation violation.The defendants are scheduled to return to court Aug. 27.