Warrant: Suspect confessed to Lynn murder during sexual assault

LYNN, Mass. — A suspect has allegedly confessed to the shooting death of a 24-year-old delivery driver in Lynn, which is connected to a robbery and sexual assault in North Andover.

Police say Brian Brito has been arrested in connection to the murder of Sina Zangiband, of Salem.

Brito allegedly confessed to the murder to a woman he raped, telling her, "I had to kill someone."

Brito has been arrested on gun charges, but has not yet been charged with murder.

DELIVERY DRIVER KILLED IN LYNN

Police received word of shots fired in the area of 49 Bowler Street, in the vicinity of St. Pius School, just before 6 p.m. Monday. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim, Zangiband, who had been shot multiple times, dead in his car.

A friend of his, Katherine Ruiz, said she saw him as he was leaving for work around noon.

“When I got out of work I ran next door really quick and he was sitting in his car waiting to go out on a delivery,” she said.

Investigators are still trying to determine what led to the fatal shooting.

“He was on a delivery and he was cutting through Bowler Street and there was some sort of confrontation,” Ruiz said. “There was some type of road rage and the guy just pulled out a gun.”

The owner of Athas Roast Beef, in Lynn, confirmed the victim was a driver for the restaurant and had been for quite some time. The owner said drivers have been robbed and cars have been stolen, but no one has ever been shot.

SUSPECT QUESTIONED

Investigators said Tuesday morning they were questioning a suspect in connection to the delivery driver's death.

According to the Essex County District Attorney's Office, state police stopped a vehicle on Route 1 south in Peabody that matched the description of the one involved in the killing of the driver.

The driver, 21-year-old Brian Brito, was in possession of an illegal firearm and was driving with a revoked license, state police said.

He was taken into custody and is expected to be arraigned in Peabody District Court Tuesday morning on only those charges, and not any related to the shooting death of the unidentified driver.

Investigators said Brito was driving an Audi that was towed from the scene.

CONNECTION TO ROBBERY, ASSAULT

North Andover police issued an arrest warrant for Brito Tuesday afternoon. According to police, Brito is believed to be connected to an armed robbery and sexual assault that happened around 10:15 p.m. Monday at the Richdale Variety Store.

The suspect allegedly entered the store while wearing a mask and brandishing a gun. Police say the store clerk was ordered at gunpoint to lock the doors and was taken to a back room, where she was sexually assaulted.

The suspect allegedly emptied the cash drawer and took numerous lottery tickets before fleeing the scene.

Police issued a description of the vehicle involved, and were contacted by Massachusetts State Police. State police said they had a person in custody on other charges that matched the suspect's description.

North Andover police charged Brito with armed robbery while masked, aggravated rape and kidnapping.

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