LOWELL — A 37-year-old Lowell man is being held without bail as he faces robbery charges in three communities.
Saysamone Phonchanh, of 86 Bernier St., was arrested in Templeton on April 7, when police there stopped a vehicle he was in since it fit the description of one that had just left a robbery at a liquor store.
In that heist, suspects asked for Keno tickets and then grabbed them from a clerk and fled the store, assaulting the clerk when he tried to stop them, according to a police report.
Phonchanh and two other men were charged with unarmed robbery of a person over 60, larceny over $250, and assault and battery on a person over 60 in connection with the heist at Templeton Spirits Liquor Store, according to a press release.
Phonchanh was released on $500 cash bail following his arraignment in Winchendon District Court on April 9, according to a spokesman for the Worcester District Attorneys Office.
But Templeton police contacted Lowell police about that incident, and Lowell detectives realized Phonchanh’s photo, as well as a tattoo on his hands, matched the description of a suspect in two Lowell incidents that were under investigation, according to a police report.
Lowell police soon identified Phonchanh as the suspect who stole Keno tickets from 1300 Convenience on Gorham Street in Lowell on March 12, and who once again stole Keno tickets during an unarmed robbery at the Windsor Shop Variety Store at 583 Westford St., on March 23, according to police reports.
Phonchanh was taken back into custody again on April 17, when Lowell Detective Brian Keefe, who is part of the Middlesex County Warrant Unit, arrested him on a warrant.
That warrant was from Lawrence District Court, where Phonchanh is charged with masked armed robbery in connection with an April 6 heist at a convenience store in Lawrence, according to a spokesman for the Essex District Attorney’s Office.
Phonchanh was released on personal recognizance at his arraignment in Lowell District Court on charges of unarmed robbery, assault and battery, and larceny over $250 in connection with the incidents in Lowell, according to court records.
At his arraignment in Lawrence District Court, he was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing that is scheduled for Monday, according to a spokesman for the Essex District Attorneys Office.
Phonchanh’s attorney declined to comment.
Follow Robert Mills on Twitter @Robert_Mills
