blindndead
NES Member
The racket came from the dark kitchen area, and it startled David Crest as he slept in the office of his Hanover catering business. He suspected he was being burglarized again, and as he crept toward the noise, he grabbed the Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun he had kept by his side.
more stories like this"Freeze," he screamed. Crest believed he had finally caught the culprit who had taken thousands of dollars in meats, alcohol, and equipment from the shop. But when he flicked on the lights, still aiming his shotgun, and saw the intruder, he felt betrayed like never before: It was, he said, his head chef.
"How many times have you broken in here before?" Crest demanded.
The man ran out the door, and Crest fired several warning shots. He was determined, he said, to protect his property.
But police say he went too far by trying to take the law into his own hands.
Now there are two defendants. Crest, 39, of Marshfield will be arraigned next week before the same court that arraigned John F. O'Connor, 43, the man accused of stealing from him. Crest is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Crest has become something of a poster child for the right to defend one's property, even if it means using a gun. On a local website, his defenders rail against those who call him a vigilante.
"The prosecutors will have to make a decision . . . as to which action or which conduct they view to be more serious," said David Frank, legal analyst and writer for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
"It could be they decide to prosecute both."
Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for the Plymouth County district attorney's office, would not comment on the case.
April 21 marked the second consecutive night that Crest had stayed in his business office, the first night keeping his vigil until 3 a.m. He had figured one of his employees was involved in the heists - although he never suspected O'Connor - and told his crew he was going on vacation. If the thief was going to strike, it would be then, he figured.
Much was at stake for Family Crest Catering, the business Crest and his wife had built over 17 years. Some $3,000 worth of equipment and goods had disappeared from his Hanover shop since October. (A later audit would show that another $4,000 had been embezzled, his lawyer said.)
Crest had reported the first two thefts, but two more followed. That's when he decided to stand watch overnight.
Crest was awakened just before 11 p.m., he said, when he heard the freezer door open and shut, then heard a commotion in the equipment room. He discovered O'Connor in the shop, he said, and told him to get on his knees. Words were exchanged and O'Connor reached for the door, according to Crest's account in court documents.Continued...
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...5/15/was_it_self_defense_or_firearms_offense/
more stories like this"Freeze," he screamed. Crest believed he had finally caught the culprit who had taken thousands of dollars in meats, alcohol, and equipment from the shop. But when he flicked on the lights, still aiming his shotgun, and saw the intruder, he felt betrayed like never before: It was, he said, his head chef.
"How many times have you broken in here before?" Crest demanded.
The man ran out the door, and Crest fired several warning shots. He was determined, he said, to protect his property.
But police say he went too far by trying to take the law into his own hands.
Now there are two defendants. Crest, 39, of Marshfield will be arraigned next week before the same court that arraigned John F. O'Connor, 43, the man accused of stealing from him. Crest is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Crest has become something of a poster child for the right to defend one's property, even if it means using a gun. On a local website, his defenders rail against those who call him a vigilante.
"The prosecutors will have to make a decision . . . as to which action or which conduct they view to be more serious," said David Frank, legal analyst and writer for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
"It could be they decide to prosecute both."
Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for the Plymouth County district attorney's office, would not comment on the case.
April 21 marked the second consecutive night that Crest had stayed in his business office, the first night keeping his vigil until 3 a.m. He had figured one of his employees was involved in the heists - although he never suspected O'Connor - and told his crew he was going on vacation. If the thief was going to strike, it would be then, he figured.
Much was at stake for Family Crest Catering, the business Crest and his wife had built over 17 years. Some $3,000 worth of equipment and goods had disappeared from his Hanover shop since October. (A later audit would show that another $4,000 had been embezzled, his lawyer said.)
Crest had reported the first two thefts, but two more followed. That's when he decided to stand watch overnight.
Crest was awakened just before 11 p.m., he said, when he heard the freezer door open and shut, then heard a commotion in the equipment room. He discovered O'Connor in the shop, he said, and told him to get on his knees. Words were exchanged and O'Connor reached for the door, according to Crest's account in court documents.Continued...
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...5/15/was_it_self_defense_or_firearms_offense/
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