Thursday, 4:30 PM
Suspect captured in store robberies
By David Abel, Globe Staff
A 40-year-old West Roxbury man was arraigned in Brookline District Court today on a pair of armed robbery charges — in two of as many as 16 recent hold-ups of area gas stations, coffee shops, and convenience stores that police suspect him in.
Lee Hines pleaded not guilty to the Brookline robberies, and police linked him to at least six more robberies in Boston and suspect him of being responsible for up to eight more in West Roxbury, Roslindale, and the South End.
Police allege that Hines wore a mask or a bandana to hide his face and ordered store clerks to the floor at gunpoint. In one case at a Brookline bakery, police accused him of kidnapping.
"We have removed a dangerous armed criminal from our streets," said Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis at the press conference at Boston police headquarters.
Boston police captured Hines on Wednesday on a Brookline arrest warrant after a foot chase. Police said Hines admitted his involvement in several of the crimes.
Investigators searched his home on Keystone Street in West Roxbury and said they recovered a loaded firearm and clothing associated with the robberies. Police also said that preliminary ballistic evidence showed a matched between the gun and shots fired at two of the robberies.
Brookline detectives said they linked Hines to the bakery robbery on Monday after they found his finger prints at the scene.
Lee is being held in a jail in Dedham on $150,000 bail awaiting arraignment on additional charges.
