LOWELL — Prosecutors pushed for an 18-year-old Lowell man to be held without bail, saying his criminal behavior is “escalating” after being accused of snatching the purse of a woman in a wheelchair three days after being charged with receiving stolen property.
Elvin Alvarez, of 80 Smith St., Unit 12A, is being held without bail; his bail on the stolen-property charge was revoked on Wednesday. Alvarez pleaded not guilty to charges of unarmed robbery, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property.
In court on Wednesday, defense attorney Robert Normandin asked that Alvarez be released without bail, noting his strong family support, a small adult criminal record and nothing with any violence. He said he has also been involved with United Teen Equality Center in Lowell for seven years.
Normandin stressed that the allegations against Alvarez are “totally out of character.”
But prosecutor Christine Maltby argued that Alvarez allegedly stole a pocketbook from a woman, a stranger, in a wheelchair in broad daylight.
“His crimes seem to be escalating,” she said.
On March 23, a 58-year-old woman in a motorized wheelchair told police she was on Salem Street with her brown purse on her lap and the strap around her neck. She told police she felt a tug on her purse, then saw two males running away and her purse was gone. The victim told police it happened so fast she was unable to describe the thieves.
She told police her purse contained $40 in cash, her bank book, and her identification.
Four days later, police obtained security video from the Lowell Housing Authority which showed the suspects coming up behind the woman in the wheelchair. The actual theft of the pocketbook wasn’t shown.
Further investigation showed the victim’s EBT card was used less then an hour later at a store on Broadway Street. The victim had her PIN number on the outside of the card, but the account was empty.
Security photos from the store show the two suspects using the EBT card, police said. Officers were able to identify the 16-year-old in the photo and he was arrested Tuesday afternoon.
Alvarez was located near his home and arrested later that day, wearing similar clothing to that worn by one of the suspects in the video, police said. Police allege that Alvarez was known to hang out with the juvenile.
Alvarez was also charged with driving without a license.
Alvarez allegedly told police that he followed the victim from the bank and snatched the pocketbook when she was near the Adams Street housing project. Alvarez told police he and the 16-year-old needed money for gas and to eat, according to court documents. He identified himself in the video that was shown, police said. He admitted he took $40 from the pocketbook, but was unsure where the juvenile tossed the victim’s pocketbook.
Judge Laurence Pierce ordered Alvarez’s bail on a pending receiving stolen property (a license plate) case be revoked and held him without bail. Pierce also set $500 cash bail on the new arrest. The 16-year-old accomplice was arraigned on similar charges Wednesday in Lowell Juvenile Court. The results of that arraignment are not public.
A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for April 23.
Follow Lisa Redmond at www.twitter.com/lredmond13.
