Lowell Students Charged with Armed Robbery Following Alleged Assault and Vehicle Collision

LOWELL, Mass. — Two 18-year-old students from Lowell High School and two juveniles face multiple felony charges, including armed robbery and assault, following an alleged attack on a teenager and his grandfather earlier this month involving a handgun. The suspects were apprehended by police shortly after the incident, which reportedly culminated in a vehicle collision on Lincoln Street.

According to the Lowell Police Department, the incident occurred shortly after 3:00 p.m. on December 5. Officers responded to a report of a teenager being attacked by a group on the sidewalk. Upon arrival, police observed a blue Mazda traveling the wrong way on a one-way section of Lincoln Street, displaying heavy damage to its doors and tires. The driver, identified in police reports as Devonathan Thanongsinh, 18, attempted to maneuver around the police cruiser but was stopped. Inside the vehicle were Fidell Chan, 18, and two 17-year-old males whose names were withheld due to their ages.

Investigation and Evidence Recovery

An officer’s incident report states that a witness approached the stopped vehicle, identifying the occupants as the individuals who had just assaulted her son. The victim, a teenage boy, told investigators he had disembarked from a bus when a group dressed in black and wearing masks approached him, striking him in the face with a "hard object." A witness walking with the victim reported seeing a gun and fleeing, leaving his backpack behind. Both the victim’s and the witness’s backpacks, containing laptops and personal items, were allegedly recovered from the suspects’ Mazda.

The victim’s 58-year-old grandfather attempted to intervene in the assault. He reported to police that the group turned on him, punching and kicking him, which caused him to fall and briefly lose consciousness. The grandfather subsequently followed the suspects in his pickup truck, allegedly using his vehicle to block their escape, resulting in a collision before police arrived. A search of the suspects’ vehicle revealed a loaded 9mm handgun on the front passenger-side floorboard. Police noted that none of the four occupants claimed ownership of the weapon.

Judicial Proceedings

Thanongsinh, Chan, and the two juveniles were charged with masked armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and related offenses. During a dangerousness hearing—known as a 58A hearing—held at Lowell District Court, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office requested the defendants be held without bail. However, a judge set bail at $2,000 cash for the adults, citing their lack of prior criminal records.

Court documents included approximately 30 letters of support for Thanongsinh, including one from a high school staff member highlighting his academic excellence and character. Both men posted bail and were released under strict conditions, including GPS monitoring, a 24/7 curfew, and a mandate to continue their education. Thanongsinh’s attorney, Thomas Torrisi, later clarified to the court that a reported curfew violation was the result of a GPS signal error, a claim accepted by the judge.

Legal Ramifications and Procedural Outlook

The progression of this case highlights the specific application of Massachusetts’ Section 58A dangerousness hearings, where the judiciary must balance the severity of the alleged crimes against the defendants’ history and community standing. While the recovery of a loaded firearm and the violent nature of the alleged robbery present significant public safety concerns, the court’s decision to grant bail with high-level monitoring reflects an assessment of flight risk and future danger based on the defendants’ clean records and academic standing. As the case moves to the pretrial conference scheduled for January 20, the focus will likely shift to the evidentiary linkage of the specific weapon to the individual defendants. It is important to note that all individuals named in this report are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.