Frequent shoplifter charged with robbing store armed with pepper spray
BOSTON, October 24, 2025 – A Boston man currently on probation after pleading guilty to larceny in May was arraigned Monday in Roxbury BMC for brandishing a can of pepper spray at a CVS employee and walking out with a bag of hygiene products, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
BRIAN LEWIS, 54, of Boston was charged with one count of armed robbery. Judge Connor Barusch released Lewis on personal recognizance and ordered him to stay away from the location of offense.
Lewis is due back in court on November 20 for a status hearing. An attorney was not available due to the ongoing work stoppage.
At about 9:23 a.m. on October 26, Boston police received a larceny in progress call at the CVS on 231 Massachusetts Avenue with a description of an unknown male, later identified as Lewis, armed with pepper spray.
Upon arrival, officers located Lewis, who matched the description provided by store employees, walking on Clearwater Street toward Belvedere Street. Lewis told officers that he just came from CVS on Massachusetts Avenue. Officers observed Lewis carrying a reusable grocery bag with various hygiene products inside.
The products were returned to the store manager, who reported that Lewis brandished a white canister he believed to be pepper spray and said he would spray an employee if she did not “back up off of him.”
Officers confirmed Lewis’s identity and placed him under arrest without incident. They recovered a white canister of pepper spray during the arrest.
Lewis, who has a board of probation record dating back to 1988, has been convicted of numerous larcenies and is currently on probation out of BMC Central after pleading guilty to a larceny over $1,200 case in May.
“We are well aware of the impact that repeat retail theft offenders can have on our merchants and the larger impact that retail theft can have on our consumers and our communities. These are quality-of-life and quality-of-work issues, and we will continue our efforts to target offenders,” Hayden said.
Hayden’s office, the Boston Police department, regional retailer groups and small business owners in 2024 launched the Safe Shopping Initiative, an effort to increase consumer safety and help store managers strategize responses to shoplifting and retail larcenies. The initiative formed amid increasing national and local frustrations around retail crime, along with concerns over the closure of several pharmacies serving minority communities in Boston.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Our office handles more than 20,000 cases a year. Nearly 160 assistant district attorneys practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Boston and Chelsea Juvenile Courts and the Supreme Judicial Court. Our office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs for anyone encountering the criminal justice system. We are committed to educating the public about our mission and services while focusing on crime prevention to keep the residents, workers and visitors of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications