Post by Shuftin on Aug 30, 2006 0:51:55 GMT -5
In the past year, five Barnstable County deputy sheriffs were charged with committing crimes:
Robert Montalto, 45, of West Yarmouth was charged with drunken driving in January after allegedly hitting three cars parked across the street from his house and fleeing the accident scene. In May, District Court Judge Brian Merrick found Montalto not guilty because none of the witnesses could place him in the vehicle that caused the damage - despite Montalto's admission, recorded in the police report, that he had been driving the truck in question. Montalto, who has a history of driving- and alcohol-related offenses, was reinstated to the sheriff's office following his acquittal.
Michael Roof, 21, of Falmouth was charged in April with improper storage of a firearm and possession of a gun without a firearms identification card. A .38-caliber revolver was found in Roof's van, and a Remington action rifle was found in nearby bushes. The van, which Roof had reported stolen, had crashed into the Clam Shack restaurant in Falmouth. Roof negotiated a plea deal in April with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office. Roof's case was continued without a finding after he agreed to pay $300 in fees. If arrested in the next year, the charges against Roof can be reopened. Roof was fired from the sheriff's office.
Sonny W. Levins, 29, of Mattapoisett was charged in March for allegedly assaulting his wife. The woman told police at the time that she did not report a year of abuse "for fear that her husband would lose his job at the sheriff's department." The charges against Levins were dropped without explanation in April and he was reinstated in the sheriff's office.
Gregory W. DeLuca, 26, of Onset was charged in July with five offenses, including assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. The alleged incident began after a fireworks display in downtown Wareham. It took four police officers and four Taser blasts to subdue DeLuca after authorities responded to a domestic dispute between the suspect and his girlfriend. "I'm a (expletive) cop," DeLuca told authorities during the incident, according to the police report. "You can't do this." DeLuca is currently suspended from the sheriff's office and faces a jury trial in October.
Michael Robinson, 35, of Hyannis was charged Friday with allegedly stealing more than $500 worth of merchandise from two stores at the Cape Cod Mall. Robinson pleaded not guilty and will be back in court for a pretrial hearing in September. He has been suspended from the sheriff's office.
Michael T. Robinson, 35, of 11 Greenwood Ave. in Hyannis, was arrested Friday afternoon by Barnstable police at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis after security guards caught him trying to steal more than $500 worth of merchandise from two mall stores, the police said.
He is the fifth officer from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to face criminal charges in 2006.
Robinson was arraigned yesterday in Barnstable District Court and released on personal recognizance. A pretrial conference was set for Sept. 29.
Surveillance cameras inside the Macy's department store captured Robinson stuffing four shirts, each valued at $46, into a backpack before he left the store without paying, according to court documents.
A pair of Macy's security guards confronted Robinson outside the entrance to the mall. When they asked him to return to the mall's security office, Robinson initially refused. ''Robinson resisted all attempts of detainment,'' Matthew Blondin, the assistant security manager at Macy's, wrote in a report. ''He did not want to be touched or told where to go.''
When security officers opened Robinson's backpack, they discovered the four shirts from Macy's as well as more than $300 worth of items from the Discovery Channel store - including a camera and a weather station. Robinson was also carrying $700 in cash.
Barnstable police responded to the mall and placed Robinson under arrest just before 5 p.m. During his booking, the suspect told police he worked for Robinson Septic Service in Hyannis - a family business. He did not tell police that he also has worked as a corrections officer at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility since May 2003.
On his way out of court yesterday, Robinson, on the advice of Mashpee attorney Peter Lloyd, declined to answer questions about the charges.
Robinson has a long history of traffic-related offenses, according to state motor vehicle records. Between 1989 and 2005, his license has been repeatedly suspended, he has been ticketed for speeding eight times, and he had to complete a class for habitual traffic offenders.
Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings declined to comment on Robinson's arrest. Dave Neal, a sheriff's office spokesman, said Robinson has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case.
The sheriff's department has more than 325 employees and has a $25 million budget.
In an internal sheriff's office newsletter published last month, Cummings revealed a probe by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission into abuse of power allegations directed against some high-ranking sheriff's office employees.
Robinson is one of the officers named in the complaint, at least part of which has been obtained by the Times. The complaint alleges that Deputy Supt. Richard Bonavita asked Robinson during work hours to contact one of his family members about making septic repairs at Bonavita's West Barnstable home.
Bonavita, who has been out on worker's compensation since February 2005, is accused in the ethics complaint of overstepping his authority in more than 15 different situations. Bonavita's lawyer could not be reached yesterday for comment. Bonavita has in the past referred all questions to his lawyer.
In the newsletter, Cummings wrote that the ethics complaint is merely the work of a few disgruntled employees. ''I regret that some of you have been unjustly maligned because of this,'' Cummings wrote.
Robinson is the fifth sheriff's employee to face criminal charges this year - all five of whom were hired by Cummings since he was elected to his first term as sheriff in 1998. Cummings, a Republican, ran unopposed in 2004 for a second six-year term.
Robert Montalto, 45, of West Yarmouth was charged with drunken driving in January after allegedly hitting three cars parked across the street from his house and fleeing the accident scene. In May, District Court Judge Brian Merrick found Montalto not guilty because none of the witnesses could place him in the vehicle that caused the damage - despite Montalto's admission, recorded in the police report, that he had been driving the truck in question. Montalto, who has a history of driving- and alcohol-related offenses, was reinstated to the sheriff's office following his acquittal.
Michael Roof, 21, of Falmouth was charged in April with improper storage of a firearm and possession of a gun without a firearms identification card. A .38-caliber revolver was found in Roof's van, and a Remington action rifle was found in nearby bushes. The van, which Roof had reported stolen, had crashed into the Clam Shack restaurant in Falmouth. Roof negotiated a plea deal in April with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office. Roof's case was continued without a finding after he agreed to pay $300 in fees. If arrested in the next year, the charges against Roof can be reopened. Roof was fired from the sheriff's office.
Sonny W. Levins, 29, of Mattapoisett was charged in March for allegedly assaulting his wife. The woman told police at the time that she did not report a year of abuse "for fear that her husband would lose his job at the sheriff's department." The charges against Levins were dropped without explanation in April and he was reinstated in the sheriff's office.
Gregory W. DeLuca, 26, of Onset was charged in July with five offenses, including assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. The alleged incident began after a fireworks display in downtown Wareham. It took four police officers and four Taser blasts to subdue DeLuca after authorities responded to a domestic dispute between the suspect and his girlfriend. "I'm a (expletive) cop," DeLuca told authorities during the incident, according to the police report. "You can't do this." DeLuca is currently suspended from the sheriff's office and faces a jury trial in October.
Michael Robinson, 35, of Hyannis was charged Friday with allegedly stealing more than $500 worth of merchandise from two stores at the Cape Cod Mall. Robinson pleaded not guilty and will be back in court for a pretrial hearing in September. He has been suspended from the sheriff's office.
Michael T. Robinson, 35, of 11 Greenwood Ave. in Hyannis, was arrested Friday afternoon by Barnstable police at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis after security guards caught him trying to steal more than $500 worth of merchandise from two mall stores, the police said.
He is the fifth officer from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to face criminal charges in 2006.
Robinson was arraigned yesterday in Barnstable District Court and released on personal recognizance. A pretrial conference was set for Sept. 29.
shuftin said:
I thought anything over $400 was felony. He was released on his own recognizance? It’s not who you know, it’s who you blow. Surveillance cameras inside the Macy's department store captured Robinson stuffing four shirts, each valued at $46, into a backpack before he left the store without paying, according to court documents.
A pair of Macy's security guards confronted Robinson outside the entrance to the mall. When they asked him to return to the mall's security office, Robinson initially refused. ''Robinson resisted all attempts of detainment,'' Matthew Blondin, the assistant security manager at Macy's, wrote in a report. ''He did not want to be touched or told where to go.''
When security officers opened Robinson's backpack, they discovered the four shirts from Macy's as well as more than $300 worth of items from the Discovery Channel store - including a camera and a weather station. Robinson was also carrying $700 in cash.
Barnstable police responded to the mall and placed Robinson under arrest just before 5 p.m. During his booking, the suspect told police he worked for Robinson Septic Service in Hyannis - a family business. He did not tell police that he also has worked as a corrections officer at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility since May 2003.
On his way out of court yesterday, Robinson, on the advice of Mashpee attorney Peter Lloyd, declined to answer questions about the charges.
Robinson has a long history of traffic-related offenses, according to state motor vehicle records. Between 1989 and 2005, his license has been repeatedly suspended, he has been ticketed for speeding eight times, and he had to complete a class for habitual traffic offenders.
shuftin said:
He was probable assigned to the traffic division setting up check points or out issuing speeding tickets. Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings declined to comment on Robinson's arrest. Dave Neal, a sheriff's office spokesman, said Robinson has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case.
The sheriff's department has more than 325 employees and has a $25 million budget.
In an internal sheriff's office newsletter published last month, Cummings revealed a probe by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission into abuse of power allegations directed against some high-ranking sheriff's office employees.
Robinson is one of the officers named in the complaint, at least part of which has been obtained by the Times. The complaint alleges that Deputy Supt. Richard Bonavita asked Robinson during work hours to contact one of his family members about making septic repairs at Bonavita's West Barnstable home.
Bonavita, who has been out on worker's compensation since February 2005, is accused in the ethics complaint of overstepping his authority in more than 15 different situations. Bonavita's lawyer could not be reached yesterday for comment. Bonavita has in the past referred all questions to his lawyer.
In the newsletter, Cummings wrote that the ethics complaint is merely the work of a few disgruntled employees. ''I regret that some of you have been unjustly maligned because of this,'' Cummings wrote.
Robinson is the fifth sheriff's employee to face criminal charges this year - all five of whom were hired by Cummings since he was elected to his first term as sheriff in 1998. Cummings, a Republican, ran unopposed in 2004 for a second six-year term.