PHOTO BY KEN YUSZKUS
Brian Brito stands with attorney Rebecca Whitehill, in Salem Superior Court during his June 23, 2017 arraignment.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
SALEM — Brian Brito, the 22-year-old man accused of killing a food deliveryman in Lynn and raping a store clerk during a robbery in North Andover, has been indicted on charges from a separate non fatal drive-by shooting in Lawrence.
Brito, of New Hampshire, was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on Thursday on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
The indictment alleges that on March 25, Brito drove up to a car parked on Berkley Street and shot the two women inside, striking one of them in the head and the other in the leg. He is alleged to have been wearing a ski mask and a hooded sweatshirt, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
He is currently being held without bail on the murder and aggravated rape charges from the Lynn murder and North Andover robbery and rape.
Brito is also accused of shooting and killing Mohammadreza Sina Zangiband, a 24-year-old deliveryman for Atha’s Roast Beef, and robbing a North Andover convenience store and raping the store clerk on March 27.
He was indicted for murder, two counts of aggravated rape, kidnapping, armed and masked robbery, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card on May 25, authorities said.
Zangiband, of Salem, was delivering food for Atha’s when he was shot multiple times on Bowler Street. He was found dead in his vehicle, a 2012 Hyundai Sonata, with at least one gunshot wound to the head.
In an affidavit filed by State Police Trooper Thomas J. Sullivan IV in Lynn District Court, he wrote that evidence has indicated that the confrontation between the two motorists, Brito and Zangiband, may have been the result of a road rage incident.
Video surveillance and a witness account described a dark colored Audi, allegedly driven by Brito, coming from behind the Hyundai on the left, overtaking it and forcing it to pull over, blocking the car in before the shooting. The man then got out of the Audi, walked around his car, back toward the Hyundai and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the driver, identified as Zangiband, and shot him four to five times.
Brito will be arraigned on the new charges at his next court appearance in Salem Superior Court on Aug. 10.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.