Court officers William Ballard and Luis Otero take Eric Lemire of Westfield into custody after the judge set bail at $20,000 in a case in which Lemire is charged, again, with stealing from his 89-year-old great-aunt. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – A city man is facing charges – again – stemming from treatment of his elderly great-aunt.
Eric J. Lamire, 42, formerly of 41 Noble Street, was released after serving an 18-month sentence in the house of correction and returned to the city to resume, to at least some degree, care for his 89-year-old legally blind great-aunt who walks only with a walker.
He had been sentenced to two concurrent 18-month terms in June, 2012, when he pleaded guilty to charges of permitting abuse of an elderly person and larceny of property valued more than $250.
Those charges were the result of a March 21, 2012, incident when Officer Francis Gaulin responded to a call and was told by the caller that about 10 p.m. the night before, her great-nephew, Lemire, who lived with her and provided care for her had stolen from her and left her helpless in the dark.
The woman said that Lemire had returned home and entered the living room where she was laying down in a recliner. The woman said that Lemire turned off the power and, when it was dark, stole the strong box she kept next to the fireplace before he left her house.
The victim told Gaulin that when she tried to use the telephone to call police she found it to be inoperative. It was later found to have been unplugged.
Because she can only walk with the help of a walker, she could not make contact with anyone until daylight when she was able to make her way to a neighbor’s house.
The case was investigated by Det. Anthony Tsatsos who reported to the court that Lemire had known what was in the strong box when he stole it – the bulk of the funds recently realized when his victim redeemed a $14,725 certificate of deposit with his assistance.
Lemire was released without restrictions on his contact with his great-aunt and, by August, 2013, was apparently again living in her house – and cashing checks he induced his great-aunt to sign, according to the investigating detective, Roxanne Bradley, who reported Lemire used her money “to support his alcohol and crack addiction.”
Bradley had been contacted by an investigator for Highland Valley Elderly Protective Services who told her that a niece of the victim, who was authorized to manage her aunt’s finances, had reported that Lemire had been cashing checks he had induced his great-aunt to sign.
At his arraignment at the end of February, Assistant District Attorney Mary Partyka told Judge Rita Koenigs that the 89-year victim had told investigators from the protective services agency that “the defendant begged her to sign the checks so she signed her name because the defendant begged her to.”
The woman told the investigator that she did not know how much the checks were written for and quoted the investigator quoted her as saying “I told him he could get in trouble for taking other people’s money. I tried to warn him.”, Partyka said.
Partyka said that twelve checks totaling $6,100 were cashed during a two month period and detectives established that Lemire was recorded on bank video records cashing the checks.
Bradley reports that Lemire told her that “the victim did not know what she was doing at the time he had her sign the checks” and “also admitted that he cashed more checks” totaling an additional $2,800. Partyka asked Koenigs to set bail at $20,000 but Lemire’s court appointed Lawyer, John Cavanaugh of Westfield, argued that Lemire should be released on his personal recognizance, with strict conditions.
“I’m not positive that the family members in this case would be looking for this man to be indicted into a state prison” Cavanaugh said.
He also suggested that not all of the checks cashed were fraudulent. “I believe some of them might have been (cashed) with permission, some of them were not” he said.
Nonetheless, Koenigs set bail at $2,000 and court officers took Lemire into custody.
He is scheduled to return to court March 26 for a pretrial hearing.
