Court Log: Crime at Plaza Ends with Man in Prison

About a year ago, on May 29, 2010, Thomas J Mackenzie, a homeless man, joined two women in allegedly shoplifting $300 worth of electronics from at the .

According to documents at Quincy District Court, Mackenzie and his accomplices stole a battery and camera from the store. He got away and they were both arrested by Braintree police. Then, on June 14, Mackenzie was arrested with the same two women in Bridgewater during an alleged home break-in. Braintree police made a positive identification from the plaza security tapes and he was charged with larcency over $250 and malicious destruction of property under $250 for destroying the battery case.

Mackenzie was sentenced last week to serve 90 days in the Norfolk County House of Corrections.

Domestic Assault Case Heads to Trial

Last June, James H. Grimes, another man with no listed residence, was arrested and charged with domestic assault and battery after allegedly breaking into his girlfriend's Weston Street apartment.

Three Braintree officers responded when the victim said she had just returned from Disney World and Grimes came busting into the apartment, drunk and possibly on prescription drugs. She dumped the alcohol down the sink, according to the court documents, and Grimes grew enraged, spit at her and pushed her into the living room.

She also alleged that Grimes, her common law husband, stole 120 Vicodin pills while she had been on vacation. His jury trial last week, on April 26, was continued until June 29.

Drug Dealing at Plaza Reduced Via Plea

After arguing that Braintree police officers had no reasonable suspicion to seize him and therefore the evidence of drug dealing on his person was inadmissible, the attorney for Harry Lamy reached a deal with the prosecutor for a reduced charge and probation, according to Quincy District Court documents.

Lamy, a 24-year-old Mattapan man, was arrested last year at the Mobil by the South Shore Plaza and charged with conspiracy to violate drug law. Braintree officers reported that they saw him leave his vehicle and get into another car for a short period of time. They argued that the area was a known drug dealing spot and the action was suspicious.

When police confronted Lamy and another man, Marcel Chekrallah, they ultimately discovered that Lamy had sold crack for $150, according to a statement made by Chekrallah. But Lamy's lawyer argued that, in part, because the officers had never known Lamy to be a drug dealer, they did not have reasonable cause for the search. Lamy pled to possession of a class B substance and is on probation until July, 2012.