A 40-year-old Westfield man will be spending the next 18 months in a house of correction after pleading guilty last week in Westfield District Court to charges of permitting abuse to an 88-year-old resident in his care and stealing thousands of dollars from her.
The charges stem from an incident on March 21 of this year which came to the attention of Westfield police when a Noble Avenue resident called police early in the morning to report that an elderly neighbor came to his door asking for help because her care giver, a great nephew, had stolen her lock box and abandoned her in the dark.
Officer Francis Gaulin responded to the call and reports that the victim said that about 10 p.m. the night before, her great-nephew, Eric J. Lemire, 40, of Noble Avenue, who lives with her and provides care for her, returned home and entered the living room where she was laying down in a recliner. The woman said that Lemire turned out the light and stole a strong box she keeps 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.
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.
Detective Anthony Tsatsos investigated the crime and stated, in a document filed in Westfield District Court in support of an application for a criminal complaint for charges of assault and battery (neglect) of an elderly person and larceny of property valued more than $250, that the strong box Lemire had stolen contained the bulk of the funds recently realized when his victim redeemed a $14,725 certificate of deposit.
Tsatsos said that Lemire did not return to his residence at the victim’s home nor did he answer his cell phone so a warrant was sought and granted.
Lemire surrendered himself at Westfield District Court on April 17 and, after he arraigned before Judge Philip A. Contant, he was held on $1,500 cash bail.
On June 13, Lemire pleaded guilty in Contant’s court to charges of permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person and larceny of property valued more than $250. He was sentenced to two concurrent 18-month terms in the house of correction.
Lemire is not a stranger to the legal system having been to court to answer charges several times previously.
In October, 1996, he pleaded guilty in Westfield District court to charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and larceny of property valued more than $250 before Judge Michael Ripps and was placed on probation for one year.
By July of 1997 he was alleged to have violated probation and failed to appear at an October hearing. In March, 1997, he did appear in court and was sentenced to a three-month term in the house of correction.
Also in 1996, he pleaded guilty to a charge of larceny from a person and Judge Mary Hurley sentenced him to a three-moth term, suspended with probation for a year that was also violated.
Lemire also was brought to court for a July, 2006, incident which resulted in a charge of larceny of property valued less than $250 and, when he pleaded guilty to that charge, he was fined $300, assessed $50 and ordered to pay restitution of $21
In his most recent offense, Lemire was charged under Chapter 265 Section 13K/E of the Massachusetts General Laws and the penalty prescribed upon conviction under the statute is not more than a two and a half-year term in a house of correction or a fine of up to $5,000 or both imprisonment and a fine.
The penalty for the larceny charge, under Chapter 266 Section 30/A, is not more than two years in jail and a fine of not more than $25,000.
