A 21-year-old resident of the city was arrested Monday afternoon in connection with an armed robbery at the Northshore Mall Kay’s Jewelers location earlier in the day, police said.
Peabody police responded to the mall at approximately 1 p.m. Monday for a report of an armed robbery that had just occurred, the department said in a statement. A Kay’s employee described the suspect as a 5-foot-7 male wearing all-black clothing and a white mask, who was carrying a backpack. The employee told police the suspect allegedly made a motion to his waist indicating he was carrying a gun.
Lt. David Bonfanti, a department spokesman, said the man allegedly handed the employee a note that read, “Put everything in the bag. I give you two minutes before I shoot. Don’t make a sound.” The mask the man was wearing is the same one used in the “Scream” movies, Bonfanti said.
Later, Sgt. Stephen Zampitella observed a man matching the suspect’s description walking near an access road of the mall property. In addition to matching the description of the suspect, the man was wearing a white mask. When the man saw Zampitella, he allegedly attempted to run away but was apprehended in the area of Northshore Road, police said.
The man was identified as Starlin Batista, of 95 Main St., according to police. Batista now faces a charge of armed masked robbery and a warrant charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. At his arraignment in Peabody District Court Tuesday morning, Batista was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing set for Friday, April 24.
During the arrest, police said they recovered a black BB gun, and several watches and necklaces Batista allegedly stole from Kay’s.
Nobody was injured during the incident, said Bonfanti. Several stores in the mall went into a brief lockdown as a result of the robbery, but all stores are now open.
“This is a procedure that the Peabody police, in partnership with mall security and management, have trained together for occurrences like this incident,” Bonfanti said.
