Articles Posted in Larceny/Stealing

On September 16, 2014, GN, a 57 year old man from Wilmington, was accused of assaulting a female neighbor. The neighbor’s 11 year old son had been playing ball in the street in front of GN’s house; the boy claimed that the ball went under the bushes directly in front of GN’s house and that before the boy could retrieve the ball GN came out of the house, picked the ball up, and put it in his pocket. The boy went home and told his mother. The mother came down to GN’s house and rang the bell. GN came to the door and the neighbor demanded that he return the ball. GN denied that he had the ball and said he did not know what she was talking about. The neighbor walked away from the door and as she walked down the driveway she grabbed GN’s granddaughter’s tricycle and shouted to GN you’ll get the trike back when I get the ball back.GN bolted from the front door and according to the neighbor grabbed the tricycle and then shoved her. The neighbor called the police and the police responded. GN denied shoving the neighbor; he admitted to grabbing the tricycle. The neighbor applied for a criminal complaint against GN and GN received a notice of a complaint hearing from Woburn District Court. GN retained Attorney Robert Lewin. Attorney Lewin immediately advised GN to apply for a criminal complaint against the neighbor for larceny (stealing the tricycle) in order to “level the playing field”. GN followed Attorney Lewin’s advice. The Clerk-Magistrate at Woburn District Court sent the neighbor a notice for a hearing against her for larceny. The two hearings were scheduled for the same time. In Massachusetts a person has a right to use reasonable, non-deadly, force to protect their property and to prevent it from being stolen. On October 24, 2019 the hearing took place. The Clerk-Magistrate heard both sides. Attorney Lewin had photos of the scene and had GN, his wife, and his daughter testify. Attorney Lewin had made a copy of the relevant law (that a person has right to use reasonable, non deadly, force to prevent their property from being stolen) for the Clerk-Magistrate. The Clerk-Magistrate found no probable cause to issue a criminal complaint against GN. GN walked out of Woburn Court having no criminal record and no criminal complaint to defend against.

On August 27, 2014, EG, a 58 year old married mother of two children went into the Whole Foods Market in Andover. She filled her shopping cart with about $150.00 worth of food; unfortunately she filled her pocketbook with about $130.00 worth of vitamins. She went through the cash register and paid for the food but did not pay for the vitamins. As she exited the store she was stopped by a loss prevention officer. She was brought back into the store; the vitamins were removed from her pocketbook. The Andover Police were requested by the store and they responded. The Andover Police did not arrest EG but they took her information and told her she would be hearing from the Lawrence District Court. EG is a dental hygienist and she was concerned with the potential effects of having a criminal record. EG retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover.

Attorney Lewin immediately contacted the Police Prosecutor from Andover and obtained a copy of the police report. In addition Attorney Lewin made sure that the case was being set up for a Hearing before a Clerk-Magistrate as opposed to a summons. When a person is accused of shoplifting and the amount in question exceeds $100 the police have two choices. They can file an application for criminal complaint at the Court and request that the Clerk-Magistrate set the application up for a hearing to determine whether or not a criminal complaint will be issued against the accused. The second choice the police have is to file the application for criminal complaint at the court and request that the Clerk-Magistrate issue the criminal complaint without a hearing and issue a summons for the accused to appear before a judge. This is a critical difference. When the application is set up for a hearing then the accused has the opportunity to “kill” the case before it goes any further. When the Clerk-Magistrate conducts a hearing, the Clerk-Magistrate has the discretion to NOT issue the criminal complaint against the accused. If the Clerk-Magistrate does NOT issue a criminal complaint then the accused does not have to go in front of a Judge and, more importantly, NO criminal record is created. There is no publicity of the charge.

On the other hand, if the Clerk-Magistrate decides to by-pass a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing and issues the complaint and a summons then the accused loses that opportunity to “kill” the case, the accused has to appear before a judge for an arraignment in open criminal court, and a CRIMINAL RECORD is created. That is why it is important to advocate with the police at the earliest possible moment to have the case set up for a hearing.

Back in 2005 PT, then age 31, kited checks at a local bank in Holyoke, MA and ended up owing the bank $1,100.00. Check kiting is illegal and when he refused to pay the bank the $1,100.00 a criminal complaint for Larceny by Check Over $250 was taken out against PT. PT defaulted in Court and took off for Texas. In 2014 PT went to renew his Texas License and was told he could not renew it because he had an outstanding warrant in Massachusetts. PT remembered virtually nothing about the case. PT contacted Attorney Robert Lewin. Attorney Lewin – that same day – contacted the Court and the Holyoke Police and was able to determine the facts of the case, the amount of money owing, that the investigating officer had retired from the police force and the investigator for the bank had also retired. PT retained Attorney Lewin. Attorney Lewin spoke the next day with the Assistant District Attorney at the court; the DA’s Office agreed that if PT paid the $1,100.00 forthwith then the DA’s Office would agree to dismiss the case – and PT would not have to come up to Massachusetts. Attorney Lewin called PT and gave him his options: (1) He could come up to Massachusetts and fight the case and probably win it of (2) he could pay the $1,100.00, not have to come to Massachusetts, and probably get the case dismissed. PT’s wife wired the $1,100.00 to Attorney Lewin the next day. On Tuesday, April 8, 2014 Attorney Lewin appeared in Holyoke District Court and presented a Motion to waive PT’s personal appearance in Court. The judge granted the Motion, Attorney Lewin paid the $1,100.00 to the Court, the default was removed, the warrant cancelled, and the case dismissed. The suspension of PT’s right to operate a motor vehicle imposed by the Massachusetts RMV because of the warrant in Holyoke District Court has been lifted and PT can now go to the Texas DMV and get his Texas license renewed. From the date PT hired Attorney Lewin to the date the warrant got cancelled and the case was dismissed consumed 7 business days. Like many people who have outstanding warrants PT was afraid to deal with it and thought it would never rear its head. Neither PT nor his wife could believe that the case got so favorably resolved, so quickly, without PT having to come to Massachusetts.

TK, a 66 year old retired man from Boxford, was caught stealing dinnerware from Building 16 in Haverhill. He was charged with Larceny Over $250, a felony in Massachusetts. A review of the facts indicated that TK had lost his employment as a result of the recession. TK retained Attorney Robert Lewin. Attorney Lewin met with the Assistant District Attorney in Haverhill District Court and convinced the Assistant DA that TK was worthy of a break. On February 8, 2012 Attorney Lewin and TK appeared in Haverhill Court and by agreement TK’s case was continued for six months without a finding. The judge waived the probation supervision fee and so long as TK stays out of trouble the case will be dismissed at the end of the six months. Under the new Massachusetts Criminal Records Law, TK will be eligible to request that his record be sealed at the end of the six months.

MC is now age 48 and resides in Vermont. From 1992 to 2000 he lived in Massachusetts and had a string of criminal offenses that brought him into New Bedford District Court, Hingham District Court, Barnstable District Court, and Wareham District Court. His crimes included the following: Larceny By Check (4 counts), Counterfeiting a Motor Vehicle Document (Title), Larceny Over $250 (2 counts), DUI Liquor, Operating to Endanger, and Operating After Suspension of License. In 2000 he left Massachusetts and settled down in Vermont. He started a business and became quite successful. Then he got a notice from the DMV in Vermont that Vermont would not renew his license because of outstanding warrants in four Massachusetts Courts. MC retained Attorney Robert Lewin who immediately went to all four courts. Copies of all the papers from all his cases in all four courts were obtained. The DA’s Offices in all four courts were contacted as well as the probation offices in all four courts. The cases in Barnstable District Court and Hingham District Court required only the payment of money and the obtaining of certain papers. MC paid the moneys that were owing and furnished the necessary papers and the cases in Barnstable District Court and Hingham District Court were resolved by Attorney Lewin without MC having to appear in Court. The warrants in both courts were cancelled and the cases in those two courts were closed. The cases in New Bedford District Court and Wareham District Court posed additional problems for MC. Incredibly all the witnesses in the cases in those two courts were still around and were anxious to testify against MC. MC had screwed several companies out of substantial sums of money and they wanted their money back or a piece of MC’s hyde. The DA’s Offices in both courts were prepared and willing to try the cases. Lengthy negotiations went on about paying the money back and on January 26, 2012 MC and Attorney Lewin appeared in Wareham District Court (at 9:00 AM) and in New Bedford District Court at 11:00 AM. In Wareham District Court MC made a payment of $6,000 in restitution and the Larceny Charges against him were outright dismissed and the warrants were cancelled. MC and Attorney Lewin then drove to New Bedford. In New Bedford District Court MC made a payment of $7,000 in restitution. The $7,000 was one-half of the money that he owed. By agreement with the DA’s Office the warrant against MC was cancelled and the case was continued for three months to pay the remaining $7,000 in restitution. The DAs Office has agreed to dismiss the charges against MC outright on the three month date if the $7,000 balance of the restitution is paid by that date. As a result, MC has walked away from a combination of several felony and misdemeanor charges in 4 courts after having been on default (i.e. on the run) for 12 years. He did not spend a day in jail. All his warrants have been cancelled and his driving privileges have been reinstated. MC was so pleased he gave Attorney Lewin a bonus!

In 2009, DW, a 58 year old car parts salesman, gave a fellow a check for $1,500 that was worthless. The fellow went to the police and the police took out a criminal complaint against DB for Larceny Over $250, Forgery, and Uttering (all felonies). DB left Massachusetts and moved to Virginia and never received the summons to appear in Framingham District Court. A warrant issued for his arrest. Two years later (in 2011) DW learned of the outstanding warrant and contacted Attorney Robert Lewin. Attorney Lewin spoke to the victim and confirmed that DB made good on the bad check plus interest. Attorney Lewin then contacted the police and the District Attorney’s Office and got the DA’s Office to agree to dismiss all the charges against DB prior to arraignment and without DB having to appear in Court. On April 5, 2011 Attorney Lewin appeared in Framingham District Court on DB’s behalf and the Judge went along and dismissed all the charges prior to arraignment without DB appearing personally. By dismissing the charges prior to arraignment the charges do not go on DB’s criminal record. It is as is it never happened.

RC worked for an employer. RC stole his employer’s checkbook and removed 15 blank checks from the checkbook. Over a period of several weeks RC wrote out the 15 checks to himself, forged his employer’s signature, and cashed the checks at a local bank. RC received about $11,500 from this scheme. Shortly after the employer discovered the missing checks the police were called in. It took about 10 minutes for the investigation to focus on RC. RC was called into the police station without a lawyer where he made a complete confession after being Mirandized. RC was charged with 45 felony counts: 15 counts of forgery, 15 counts of larceny, and 15 counts of uttering. (Uttering is the act of knowingly tendering a forged check; this happened each time RC took one of the forged checks and cashed it at the bank.) RC’s employer was angry and wanted RC to go to jail. Attorney Lewin got RC into counselling and stressed to RC the importance of putting money aside each week so that when RC went back to court he would have a sum of money to be applied toward the restitution. On August 26, 2010 RC and Attorney Lewin appeared in Lowell District Court. The District Attorney asked that RC be given an 18 month split sentence: 6 months to be served and 12 months suspended for 3 years with probation and restitution. Attorney Lewin presented the Judge with a report from the counsellor and $500 in cash that RC had accumulated as a downpayment on the restitution. Attorney Lewin pointed out that sending RC to jail – even if only for a very short period – would cost RC his new job and would greatly hamper his ability to pay the retitution. Attorney Lewin requested a term of probation. The Judge followed the recommendation of Attorney Lewin and placed RC on Probation for three years (with an 18 month suspended sentence) and the Judge ordered restitution to be paid at the rate of $100 per week. RC believes he will be able to get the retitution paid off in 2 years; if that happens then a Motion to Terminate Probation early will be filed and presented to the court. Wins come in all shapes and sizes. RC did not want to go to jail and he wanted sufficient time to pay the restitution. RC got the result he wanted. As RC and Attorney Lewin were leaving the Courthouse RC turned to Attorney Lewin and said put this case in the win column!

An Attorney was accused in Lawrence District Court of taking fees from a client and not performing the work. A criminal complaint for two counts of larceny from a person age 65 or older was filed against him. A charge of larceny can be easy to file but difficult to prove. As is often the case, the devil is in the details. In this case the “victim” was over age 65 at the time the charges were filed but it was clear from the evidence that at the time of the alleged thefts the “victim” was well under age 65. Right at the outset that reduced the two counts from aggravated larceny to simple larceny. Then Attorney Lewin noticed that the date of offense in Count 1 was more than six years before the date on which the criminal complaint issued. This put Count 1 beyond the six year Massachusetts Statute of Limitations. Now we were down to one count of simple larceny. To prove larceny by false pretences the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that at the time of the taking of the money the accused had an intent to steal or defraud. This is an issue that is commonly raised in cases against contractors who take a deposit on a job and then for one reason or another don’t complete the job or don’t do any work at all on the job. Attorney Lewin and his staff researched the issue thoroughly and found a number of Massachusetts cases directly on point. The cases hold that mere non-performance of the job is not enought to prove an intent to steal or defraud at the time the the contractor is hired. An extensive Memorandum of Law was prepared for the judge and all the relevant cases were cited. When the Assistant District Attorney and Attorney Lewin argued the issue to the Judge, the Judge cited the very cases that Attorney Lewin had cited in his Memorandum. The District Attorney finally yielded and on August 9, 2010 all the charges against the lawyer were dismissed.

One rainy day Patrick M, age 18, was walking to a friend’s house when it began pouring. Patrick saw a bicycle leaning up against a house in Wakefield. Patrick figured if he “borrowed” the bike he could get to his friend’s house more quickly and not get quite so wet. In a moment of poor decision making, Patrick entered the yard, grabbed the bicycle, and rode away to his friend’s house. Patrick left the bike at the friend’s house in the back yard. Unfortunately for Patrick, a witness had seen Patrick take the bicycle and had followed Patrick. The witness went to the police. The police retrieved the bike and confronted Patrick. In a moment of contrition Patrick admitted taking the bike and apologized profusely. He told the police it was his intention to return the bike the next morning and that he never intended to steal it. Patrick wrote a heartfelt letter of apology to the owner of the bike. The police charged Patrick with larceny over $250, a felony. Patrick retained Attorney Lewin prior to his arraignment. On the morning of the arraignment Attorney Lewin asked that the arraignment not be held but that the case be continued for a period of time to allow Attorney Lewin to try to convince the DA’s office to dismiss the case prior to the arraignment. The case was continued two more times and on June 23, 2010 the DA’s office agreed to dismiss the case “prior to arraignment”. The significance of the case being dismissed “prior to the arraignment” is that the case does not go on Patrick’s record. A charge of Larceny over $250 brands someone as a thief and no one wants to hire a thief. As a result of good lawyering at the outset of the case Patrick came out of this with no criminal record.

MD, a 52 year old man from Winchester, was accused of stealing his daughter’s roommate’s lap top computer. He was charged in Malden District Court with larceny over $250 (a felony). A conviction would have cost him his job. The police accused him of stealing the lap top from the victim’s apartment and then giving it to his daughter’s mother to sell. He absolutely denied any intent to steal and claimed that he had taken the computer in the mistaken belief that it belonged to his daughter. His daughter was moving out of the apartment and had enlisted the help of her father in moving her stuff out. He honestly believed that the lap top belonged to his daughter. In Massachusetts larceny requires proof of an intent to steal. The law in Massachusetts is that if you take another person’s property in an honest and reasonable belief that another person on whose behalf you are acting had a legal right to the property – even if that belief was in fact mistaken – then you are entitled to be found not guilty because you lacked an intent to steal. MD’s case was scheduled for jury trial on April 13, 2010. MD and Attorney Lewin appeared at Court ready for trial and the DA’s Office dismissed the case.

Contact Information