Six-Year-Old Girl Found in Alleged Get-Away Car

A six-year-old girl and her 22-year-old mother were both in a blue sedan when New Hampshire State Police and Manchester police converged on the vehicle just south of the Bedford tolls on the Everett Turnpike.

Two men were arrested Sunday and charged in an attempted armed robbery.
Manchester Police, according to a department press release, were called at approximately 11:15 a.m. to Crosstown Variety at 77 Bremer St. for a reported robbery in progress.

The suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Brian Cunneen of Lowell, Mass., reportedly entered the store and approached the clerk, displaying a handgun and demanding money from the register, police said.

A customer, unaware of the attempted robbery in progress, walked up behind the suspect and was asked by the clerk to call 911.

The suspect reportedly quickly left the store empty handed and was observed a couple blocks away entering a vehicle – allegedly operated by 27-year-old John Hickey, also of Lowell.

The suspected get-away car was followed by a witness, who also called 911 to report the robbery and updated Manchester Police on the vehicle's location as it entered onto I-293 and then the Everett Turnpike southbound.

As the suspects' vehicle stopped at the “Cash Only” lane at the Bedford tolls, police units from Manchester and New Hampshire State Police Troop B converged on the location, and both Cunneen and Hickey were arrested without incident.

At this time there are no charges pending against the female passenger, whose name is being withheld until it is determined what her involvement is, if any, in the crime. There were no reported injuries.

Cunneen and Hickey are scheduled to be arraigned at the 9th Circuit District Court in Manchester on Monday, July 29, at 8:30 a.m.

Both suspects declined to speak with a bail commissioner and are being held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections.

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