Two Men Charged With Assorted Theft Crimes In Plymouth Court

Two Massachusetts men were charged with larceny over $250, receiving stolen property, credit card theft and credit fraud after getting arrested in a stolen car.  The men, Barry Sylvester of Pembroke and Daniel Meehan of Dorchester stand accused of stealing a Department of Recreation and Conservation truck from a parking lot in Dorchester on New Year’s Eve.  It is also alleged that the two used a stolen credit card to purchase power tools.  A state trooper who observed the vehicle heading southbound or Route 3 made a call.  The defendants were spotted at an Exxon Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts at about 3:00 p.m. last Friday.  Plymouth Police confronted the men and made arrests.  Read full story, Brockton Enterprise January 5, 2008. 

 

A likley breakdown of the charges is as follows:

 

1.  Credit Card Fraud.  The Massachusetts credit card fraud statute is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266 Section 37C.  This law makes it a crime to fraudulently use a credit card.  Massachusetts case law suggests that there must be testimony from the true cardholder that the defendant was using it without his consent.  Evidence that defendant identified himself as the cardholder to sales associate was insufficient to support inference that defendant obtained the credit card without cardholder’s consent.  There is a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison if convicted of this crime in the Superior Court or up to 2 1/2 years in the house of correction if the case is kept in the District Court.

 

2.  Receiving Stolen Property.  This crime is proscribed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266 Section 60.  This statute makes it a crime to buy, receive or aid in the concealment of stolen property.  To convict someone of this crime the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the property in question was stolen, that the defendant knew that the property was stolen and that the defendant knowingly kept the property in his possession.  In all likelihood this charge pertains to the stolen tools since receiving a stolen motor vehicle is a separate crime as is larceny of a motor vehicle. 

 

3.  Receiving Stolen Motor Vehicle.  This is a crime in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266 Section 28.  This law states that anyone who is in possession of a motor vehicle knowing the same to be stolen is guilty of a crime.  A conviction under this statute is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.