Assault with a dangerous weapon charge?

[wtm442]

A lot of talk and opinions in the paper lately regarding this "caper".
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By Andrew Lightman
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Apr 24, 2008 @ 03:32 PM

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HANOVER — Four times they stole from his catering company, taking cash, alcohol and cases of beef, lobster and shrimp. Twice he called police, yet no one had been caught.

So David Crest sat in his darkened office, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, waiting for the burglar to come back.

Late Monday night, someone did.

According to the police report, Crest confronted the unarmed man, one of his part-time cooks, and fired four times.

The first shot went into the ground, Crest told police, as did the second, when John O’Connor, 43, of Weymouth started to run away. The last two hit O’Connor’s car, striking the passenger’s and driver’s side doors.

O’Connor escaped and drove off, but was caught by State Police with “fresh meats and other food items” in the back of his Chevrolet Cobalt, authorities said.

O’Connor pleaded innocent to charges of breaking and entering to commit a felony and larceny from a building at his arraignment in Hingham District Court on Tuesday. He was ordered held in lieu of $2,500 cash bail.

Hanover police are also seeking charges against Crest, a Marshfield resident, for assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

According to Police Chief Paul Hayes, Crest will be summoned to appear before a clerk magistrate, who will decide whether there is enough evidence to formally charge him.

Crest, the owner of Family Crest Catering in Hanover, called the charges unfair, saying police failed to help him stop the prior burglaries.

“I don’t think it’s right,” he said. “Good police work would have got this guy, and not a determined business owner.”

After two more burglaries last week cost him “thousands of dollars” in merchandise, Crest said he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Suspecting the thief was an employee, Crest told his workers that he’d be out of town this week, then started his stakeout on Sunday night.

“Would I do it again to protect my business and my family? Absolutely,” Crest said.

“I decided I needed to be here to catch this guy,” he said. “My intention was never to harm anybody or hurt anybody.”

Andrew Lightman is at alightman@ledger.com.