Lynn man charged with armed robbery held on $5G bail

LYNN – A judge ordered $5,000 cash bail for a homeless man witnesses and police said assaulted and tried to rob a man at knifepoint on Brookvale Street Friday afternoon.Jermain R. Ross, homeless of Lynn, was arrested and charged with armed robbery; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery; and violation of a city knife ordinance; at 4:19 p.m. Friday.He was arraigned on the charges Monday in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.Police reported responding at approximately 3:50 p.m. Friday to the area of 50 Brookvale St. on the report of a fight with a knife.The alleged victim told officers he had turned the corner to Brookvale Street when a man who had been walking beside him suddenly started punching him, Lynn Police Officer Sadrak Pierre wrote in a report. Police said the alleged victim identified Ross, who was among the people standing at the scene, as his assailant.The alleged victim told officers Ross punched him in the face and all over his body while trying to steal the alleged victim’s backpack and even “the sneakers from his feet,” police said.Ross also allegedly pulled a knife, and the two men fought for control of the weapon. Police said they found a knife nearby that the alleged victim positively identified, and the alleged victim had defensive wounds from holding the knife.Three witnesses who allegedly broke up the fight each told police they saw the men fighting with a knife and that Ross punched the alleged victim several times in the head.Essex Assistant District Attorney Brendan Kelley requested Ross be held on $15,000 cash bail, citing numerous defaults and past convictions for charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.”It happened on a street corner, your honor, and with a knife,” Kelley told the judge.But public defender Donna Cuipylo noted that each of the alleged victims explicitly told police they did not see whom or what prompted the scuffle; each witness reported only that Ross was hitting the alleged victim. Moreover, the witnesses each reported seeing both men with their hands on the knife.”It’s equally as likely that this other person was the person who started the fight and Ross was the victim in this case,” Cuipylo said. “(Ross’) crime might just be that he’s a better fighter than the other guy.”(The booking sheet notes Ross has a boxing glove as a tattoo.)Cuipylo said Ross had no money for bail.Judge Stephen Abany ordered Ross held on $5,000 cash bail and to return to court Sept. 9.