LYNN — A 33-year-old Everett man was arrested Wednesday after police said he robbed a Chatham Street convenience store last week.
Alphonzo Moultrie was arrested on warrant charges of armed and masked robbery, along with motor vehicle violations.
Moultrie is accused of robbing Sunrise Market, located at 353 Chatham St. last Wednesday, Feb. 7 at knifepoint, Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec said.
Police responded to the store shortly after 9 p.m. and learned that a man, later identified as Moultrie, and a woman entered the store. Police have spoken with the 32-year-old Allston woman and are trying to determine if there was a strong link between them — it’s not clear if charges will be sought against the woman, Kmiec said.
Moultrie, who was wearing a hoodie and mask, allegedly entered the store and brandished a knife at the 46-year-old clerk and demanded money. There was a struggle between the suspect and clerk, who sustained a small laceration on his hand from the knife, Kmiec said.
After the clerk was cut, Moultrie took cash out of the register. The woman came into the store and was standing there during the robbery. She ran out of the store with the suspect after the money was taken, Kmiec said.
Moultrie was arrested on the warrant outside of Lynn with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section. The arrest was the result of a lengthy investigation by the Lynn Police Criminal Investigation Division, Kmiec said. Moultrie is also being investigated for possible links to previous robberies at Sunrise Market.
In other news, Josmel Mercedes, 26, of Lynn, who was arrested Jan. 12 on armed robbery charges, has recently been charged again, Kmiec said.
Mercedes was arrested as he was fleeing Dee’s Corner Convenience Store at 37 Essex St. A subsequent investigation has linked him to at least five other robberies at Lynn convenience stores, Kmiec said.
On the day Mercedes was arrested, Kmiec said he was charged with three counts of armed robbery. He was also charged with robbing Big Brother Market at 578 Chestnut St. and All Day Convenience at 548 Summer St.
Recently, three additional counts of armed robbery were filed against Mercedes after he was linked to three other robberies in Lynn, Kmiec said.
Kmiec said police hope the two arrests slow down convenience store robberies in the city, because the increase in those crimes over last year and this year is far more than police have seen in the past.
