1 week Ago
LOWELL — A sneaker sale arranged through social media turned into a violent armed robbery, leaving one man pistol-whipped and with a gash to his forehead.The alleged attack led to the arrest of a juvenile and 19-year-old Brayden Moran, of Lowell, who already had pending charges related to stolen property and an attempted break-in in Billerica.Following a 58A dangerousness hearing in Lowell District Court, Moran was released under strict conditions after his attorney argued that his adolescent brain development made pretrial detention harmful to his ability to mature and rehabilitate.
The alleged robbery occurred at about 3:45 p.m. April 17 in the parking lot of the Skyline Commons at 1800 Skyline Drive.
According to a Lowell Police incident report, the alleged victim, a 25-year-old Taunton man, told officers he had arrived at the location to sell several pairs of sneakers to a buyer, named “Brae,” who he had met on Snapchat.Upon arrival in the parking lot, the alleged victim claimed that “a young man” stepped out of a minivan with Pennsylvania plates and entered the front passenger seat of his vehicle. Moments later, two masked individuals emerged from behind a dumpster.
The alleged victim told police that the individual in the front seat held him while one of the other suspects pointed a firearm at him.According to the victim’s account, he attempted to drive away but was pistol whipped in the head. Police said in the report that the alleged victim had a bloody gash on his forehead.
The suspects were then accused of ripping a gold necklace and bracelet off of the alleged victim, while taking several pairs of Nike Air Jordan sneakers, and a Louis Vuitton purse from his vehicle. According to the police report, the items had a collective value of approximately $8,000. The suspects then fled the scene in the minivan.
The alleged victim told police he attempted to follow the minivan. He then flagged down a police officer and provided the suspect vehicle’s license plate number, which was tracked using the Flock camera system — a network of cameras that records and detects license plates. A hit from a Flock camera led officers to the area of Liberty and School streets.
Within minutes of that initial hit, police stopped the minivan nearby on Westford Street at approximately 4:35 p.m.Concerned that a firearm might be on scene, officers blocked off a section of Westford Street between Osgood Street and School Street.
An officer who pulled over the minivan stated in a police report that he drew a firearm in the “low-ready position” until other officers arrived on scene. The occupants of the minivan were then given commands to exit the vehicle.Cellphone video, recorded from an upstairs window on Westford Street, was later posted to social media, showing police instructing the individuals one by one to exit the vehicle.
They were told to keep their hands outside the vehicle and to open their doors using the exterior handles.In the video, a person in the minivan’s front passenger seat can be heard asking officers to open his door, stating, “You have your hands on your guns, I’m scared. Can you please come here?”He later continued, “I don’t want to die.
You guys are white, I’m Black.”The individual eventually opened his door on his own and was detained.According to the police report, there were four individuals in the minivan, including Moran and the juvenile suspect.
After detaining the occupants, police searched the vehicle and found multiple pairs of Nike sneakers, a Louis Vuitton purse, vape cartridges, a small quantity of suspected marijuana, two duffle bags, and an Apple laptop.Police did not report recovering a firearm.Police alleged Moran had blood spatter on his white T-shirt, though he denied involvement in a robbery.
He also refused to provide consent to search two phones in his possession, which were seized by police as evidence.The alleged victim was brought to the scene to identify the suspects, and he identified Moran and the juvenile as two of the individuals allegedly involved in the robbery on Skyline Drive. The two other occupants of the minivan — a 23-year-old Lowell man and a 21-year-old Lowell man — were released after the victim was unable to identify either one of them as the other suspect.
The juvenile’s name was not released by authorities due to his age. Moran, meanwhile, was arraigned in Lowell District Court the following day on charges of armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.During a 58A dangerousness hearing on Thursday, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office argued for Moran’s pretrial detention, citing the violent nature of the crime, while also pointing to his pending charges in Billerica, where he had been arrested in January in connection with thefts linked to a stolen U.
S. Postal Service “arrow key.” The key, used to unlock multiple mailboxes, had been stolen from a mail carrier at gunpoint in November, leading to widespread fraud and theft in the area, according to the Billerica Police Department.
A juvenile was arrested for the key’s theft.Despite the concerns raised by the prosecution, Judge Leo Fama ruled that Moran is a public threat but could be released on several conditions. According to court documents filed by Moran’s attorney, Lynda Dantas, she argued that her client’s adolescent brain development made incarceration harmful to his ability to mature and rehabilitate.
She cited research on cognitive functions, noting that young offenders are more prone to impulsivity and poor decision-making due to their still-developing frontal lobes.Dantas also stated that confinement would hinder his ability to build positive relationships and work toward rehabilitation.As part of his release, Moran is required to live with his mother on Varnum Avenue in Lowell under house arrest with GPS monitoring.
He must undergo a psychological evaluation, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, and stay away from the alleged victim.Additionally, Dantas said in the court documents that Moran would work with the Committee for Public Counsel Services and UTEC, a nonprofit organization that helps young adults transition out of the criminal justice system by providing educational resources, job training, and mentorship programs aimed at rehabilitation.Moran is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial conference on May 6.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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