BOSTON, March 24, 2014— A Roxbury man received a lengthy prison sentence today after a jury convicted him of robbing an Allston convenience store while on probation for a similar offense, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury this afternoon found DOUGLAS SAVORY (D.O.B. 4/19/56) guilty of armed robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon for the robbery of a Franklin Street market last year. 

Though he brandished what appeared to be a handgun during that robbery, Savory was not tried for unlawful possession of a firearm: under Massachusetts law, a conviction for that offense would have required proof that the gun was operable. Because the weapon was not discharged during the incident nor recovered afterward, it could not be charged as a firearm, but it could be charged as a dangerous weapon for purposes of the assault.

At the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Tonya Platt of the DA’s Major Felony Bureau, Judge Patrick Brady sentenced Savory to a term of nine to 12 years in prison followed by three years of probation.

Platt presented evidence and testimony to prove that, on Jan. 29, 2013, Savory walked into the Neighborhood Market in Allston shortly after 9:20 p.m. and approached the counter as a second man entered the store.  Savory then produced what appeared to be a firearm and instructed the 45-year-old clerk to open the cash register and the second man walked behind the counter and grabbed approximately $2,000 to $3,000 from the register and one $5 scratch ticket.  Savory and the unidentified man then fled the store.

A wanted poster was produced using surveillance images from the market and released to the media and to the public by Boston Police.  As a result, investigators received multiple tips identifying him as the individual captured in the images.

At the time of his arrest, Savory was on probation for a 2008 conviction for armed robbery for which he was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of probation.  He was also out on bail for a 2011 case out of Dorchester District Court charging possession of a Class A substance at the time of the robbery.

Michael Coffey and Jillian Quigley were the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocates.  Savory was represented by attorney Steven Key.

–30–

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.