Accused robber has long criminal record

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A man a prosecutor said "terrorized" the Back Bay and South End with a string of holdups has a criminal record dating to 1986 that includes 16 robbery convictions, a judge said today in Boston Municipal Court.

Preston Jackson, 42, stood in a hallway and did not show his face in court when he was arraigned on charges in connection with six store robberies in a two-week period. He was ordered held on $95,000 cash bail for the robbery charges and his bail was revoked on another case in Dorchester District Court.

Judge Mark H. Summerville remarked on Jackson's criminal history from the bench, noting the 16 previous convictions.

Defense attorney Greg St. Cyr argued unsuccessfully for lower bail, saying that the alleged crimes did not involve weapons. Jackson is accused of handing notes to clerks at stores and coffee shops that said, "Give me the money and no one will be shot."

"In reality there was no real threat of harm to anyone involved," St. Cyr said.

But Suffolk assistant district attorney Vincent DeMore said that the robberies stuck fear in shopkeepers.

Police arrested Jackson on Saturday after he allegedly walked into the Bon Bon store on Massachusetts Avenue, near Newbury Street, with a note that demanded money. Officers said Jackson did not make any attempt to disguise himself despite a surveillance video that had been released by police that allegedly showed him robbing a Starbucks near Kenmore Square.

Jackson fled Bon Bon when the clerk told him the store had security cameras. Employees called 911 and police caught Jackson a short time later. They brought Jackson back to Bon Bon, where employees positively identified him.

From Dec. 18 through Saturday, police say Jackson allegedly made off with hundreds of dollars from shopkeepers. Among the stores he is accused of robbing are Finagle a Bagel on Boylston Street; and Chemistry, Footstock, and Dependable Cleaners on Newbury Street. He is also accused of robbing the Starbucks on Brookline Avenue in the Fenway.

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