Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
A Roxbury man was reportedly arrested for the burglary of a Brookline church based on police finding his fingerprints on a candy bowl.
The charges included breaking and entering at night with the intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building, and larceny of a motor vehicle.
The theft was reported by an individual living within the rectory at approximately 3 in the morning. The missing items included a laptop, iPad, flat screen television, and the rectory’s pickup truck.
During their investigation, according to reports the police found the man’s fingerprints on a candy bowl and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
The police later received a report that the missing truck had been abandoned on Route 109 at the Route 128/I-95 overpass in Dedham. A short time later, police in the same area responded to a call from an alarm for a local church. While responding to that call, officers spotted the man walking on High Street and placed him under arrest.
There is a lot of information missing from these reports. For example, whether the man’s fingerprints were the only evidence linking him to the crime. Since an arrest warrant was apparently issued, authorities must have shown probable cause to believe the man may have committed the crimes, and we would certainly hope that some fingerprints in a relatively innocuous location were not the only credible evidence in the case.
An individual convicted for felony larceny of a motor vehicle faces the following potential penalties:
- Imprisonment in the state prison for no more than 15 years, or
- Imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for no more than 2.5 years, or
- A fine not to exceed $15,000, or
- Both such fine and imprisonment.
A conviction under this section additionally results in immediate suspension of a driver’s license for 1 year for a first offense, and 5 years for any subsequent offense. The defendant is also required to make restitution to the victim.
Massachussets law further provides that anyone who found guilty of stealing in a building, ship, vessel or railroad car shall be subject to the following punishments:
- Imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or
- Imprisonment in jail for not more than 2 years, or
- A fine not to exceed $500.
In order to be convicted of larceny by stealing in a building, the prosecution must prove all of the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The defendant took property and carried it away.
- That property, by being in a building, was being kept safe (i.e. not out in the open).
- The property belonged to a person other than the defendant.; and
- The defendant intended to deprive the owner of the property permanently.
If you have been charged with larceny, theft, shoplifting, robbery, or embezzlement, hire a skilled defense attorney with specialized knowledge in the field of theft crimes. At the Law Office of Patrick J. Murphy, we provide experienced and aggressive representation on behalf of clients throughout Boston and the surrounding suburbs. During our 19-year practice in Massachusetts, we have represented individuals from all walks of life facing misdemeanor and felony theft charges. Contact us directly through our website, or call our law office located in downtown Boston at 617-367-0450.
More Blog Posts:
Attorney General Urges Change in Mandatory Sentencing, Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, published August 14, 2013
Two Men Arrested in Connection with Train Station Altercation, Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, published August 8, 2013