North Andover Rape & Robbery Suspect Held Without Bail

LAWRENCE - A New Hampshire man accused of back-to-back crimes, starting with a murder in Lynn last Monday, was ordered held without bail today on charges of raping and robbing a North Andover store clerk hours after the killing in Lynn.

In Lawrence District Court on Monday, Brian Brito, 21, of Manchester, N.H, who also lists an address in Lawrence, pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated rape, armed robbery while masked and kidnapping.

A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for May 9, in the North Andover case, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

Police say that while Brito was in State Police custody being questioned about the Lynn murder of 24-year-old pizza delivery man Mohammadreza "Sina" Zangiband of Salem, authorities realized he was the suspect North Andover police were searching for in the alleged rape and robbery of a North Andover variety store clerk.

At about 10:30 p.m. on Monday, North Andover police responded to Richdale variety store on Chickering Road. A female clerk reported that a man wearing a dark mask entered the store and asked the clerk if anyone else was in the store, according to police.

When she responded the store was empty, he forced her at gunpoint into a side room and ordered her to strip, police allege. The man then raped the clerk and stole $500 from a money box and all the scratch tickets off the counter.

The man allegedly told the victim, "I had to kill someone...Thank you for making this easy,'' according to court documents

In the murder case, at Brito's arraignment last week in Lynn District Court he was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in an alleged road-rage incident.

Police allege Brito fired several shots at Zangiband, hitting him in the head as he sat in his car.

Brito is scheduled for a May 3 probable-cause hearing in that case.

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