WESTFIELD –A city man will be in the house of correction for the next couple of years after his guilty pleas in six housebreaking cases yielded 12 jail terms which will be served concurrently.
The man, Gary M. Hutchins, 37, of 47 Broad St., has also admitted to breaking into ten additional houses but he has not been prosecuted for those crimes.
The 17 housebreaks that Hutchins is responsible for were among 41 instances which occurred between November of 2012 and March, 2013 which were investigated by city detectives under the command of Det. Sgt. Stephen K. Dickinson.
Dickinson said that Hutchins’ criminal career started to unravel when a confederate who had driven for Hutchins was apprehended when he attempted a solo break in while Hutchins was in custody for other offenses.
With information gleaned from the confederate, Dickinson and the detectives were able to assemble sufficient evidence to charge Hutchins with seven housebreaks but believed that he was responsible for several others they were not able to charge him with due to a lack of physical evidence.
However, secure in the belief that the cases in progress would see Hutchins incarcerated and with the concurrence of the prosecuting assistant district attorney, Dickinson agreed to allow immunity for Hutchins relative to any additional break-ins that he confessed to.
Dickinson explained that that although he was not able to prosecute Hutchins for the additional crimes, a confession under a limited immunity agreement can allow closure for victims and can sometimes lead to the recovery of stolen property.
Dickinson said that, in this case, some of the stolen items (mostly jewelry) had already been recovered and had led to the charges already filed against Hutchins. He said that he did not expect that any more of the stolen property would be recovered because Hutchins’ driver had explained to him how Hutchins had promptly sold most of his swag and used the proceeds to buy heroin for himself and his confederate.
When Hutchins confessed to the additional break ins, Dickinson said, he did not admit to the crimes for which he had already been charged.
But, when he appeared in court before Judge Laurie McLeod on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty in six of the seven cases.
One case, in which Hutchins was charged with receiving stolen property valued more than $250, was not prosecuted but he pleaded guilty to six counts of larceny from a building in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, five counts of larceny from a building and a single charge of larceny of a firearm.
For each of the six breaking and entering charges, Hutchins was sentenced to a two and a half year term in the house of correction, the maximum sentence which may be imposed in district court.
For each of the six larceny charges, Hutchins was sentenced to a two term.
McLeod ordered that all the charges are to be served concurrently.
In an unrelated case also adjudicated Wednesday, Hutchins pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a Class A drug (a subsequent offense) and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license brought by Westfield police.
McLeod ordered that he remain drug free and placed him on probation for five years. He was assessed $90.
