Woburn Man Indicted on Six Counts of Armed Robbery

A Woburn man will be arraigned Thursday morning in on robbery charges connected to six separate incidents within 28 hours in September.

Matthew Pappas, 18, of Woburn was indicted by a grand jury today on three counts of armed robbery, two counts of armed assault with the intent to rob, masked armed robbery and six counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.

"This defendant is alleged to have engaged in a 28-hour crime spree, displaying a firearm and demanding the valuables of six separate innocent victims, placing them in tremendous fear," said Leone in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "The defendant's alleged actions are extremely disturbing and alarming to law enforcement and the public."

According to officials, Pappas allegedly approached a woman at the Shaw's in Burlington at 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 and demanded she give him her purse. When the victim reportedly saw a gun in Pappas' waistband, she handed him the purse.

Less than 24 hours later, Pappas allegedly took a purse from a victim waiting for a bus on Montvale Avenue. Later that night, around 10 p.m. on Sept. 21, authorities allege that Pappas exposed a handgun on another Burlington Shaw's shopper and demanded her purse, which she handed to him.

According to the district attorney, Pappas also attempted to rob two other victims of their handbags, but a woman on Federal Street was able to enter her car and drive away, while another, who was already in her car on North Warren Street, beeped her horn, causing Pappas to flee.

The sixth incident, authorities allege, was on Sept. 22 at approximately 1 a.m. When a woman was leaving a Main Street convenience store, Pappas allegedly tugged at her purse. The victim did not let go of the handbag.

When the last incident was reported, Woburn Police located Pappas in some bushes on Franklin Street. A foot chase ensued, but police discovered Pappas hiding under a pick-up truck in a parking lot on Winn Street. He was arrested at the time.

According to Leone, Pappas was arraigned on Sept. 24 in where he was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. On Sept. 29, he was deemed dangerous and held without bail. According to the district attorney's office, Pappas was later released to house arrest with a monitoring bracelet.

After today's indictment, Pappas now faces charges in .