Hyannis Woman Charged for Stealing from Charity Event
A decorative box went missing from a silent auction held on Friday night in honor of slain Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon.
Photo via iStock.com/Kali9
Stealing is always wrong, but lifting merchandise from a charity event is particularly unsavory.
Maureen Wiggin, a 56-year-old Hyannis woman, was charged with stealing from a silent auction held last week in honor of a slain Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon, the Barnstable Police Department said in a statement.
At roughly 10:30 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to reports of larceny at the Cape Codder Resort, where the charity fundraiser was held. Witnesses told police a decorative box filled with golf balls, baseball hats, and shirts had gone missing, and a review of security footage revealed Wiggin taking the item from the auction table and exiting the event.
According to the statement, Wiggin was initially uncooperative when confronted by two officers at her home, but she eventually retrieved the pilfered item. She faces a charge of larceny of property under $1,200.
Wiggin had not purchased a $25 ticket to the “Back the Blue: A Night to Remember Sean” event, according to the statement. Proceeds from the fundraiser were donated to the Yarmouth Police Foundation, the department’s nonprofit wing that works to provide officers with supplementary training and technology resources.
On April 12, Gannon was shot and killed in the line of duty while serving a house warrant in the Marstons Mills village of Barnstable. His K-9 partner, Nero, was seriously injured in the shooting and has since taken steps toward recovery. Gannon’s death was met by an outpouring of support from police officers around the country.
Thomas Latanowich, the 29-year-old Somerville man accused of killing Gannon, is being held without bail on a murder charge.
