FARMINGTON – Charges have been filed against one woman and are pending against another as police investigate the theft of a book and framed picture out of the Octagon House.
Bridget Flaherty, 23 of Farmington, has been charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor theft for her alleged role in removing items from the house, which is located at the corner of High Street and Perham Street. Similar charges are pending for a 20-year-old woman out of Manchester.
Farmington police began investigating after a member of the Farmington Historical Society discovered a door ajar and a debit card in an upper-floor room. Not recognizing the name on the card, the FHS member contacted police.
Officer Michael Lyman called the owner of the card and said that she admitted to entering the Octagon House with a female acquaintance. Both individuals had been intoxicated Saturday evening and walking to a Perham Street address when they decided to enter the Octagon House.
Taken from the house was a book published in 1860 and a small, framed picture of a woman, Lyman said. Both items were recovered and undamaged.
Today, Police Chief Jack Peck said that the Manchester suspect had been identified and contacted but hadn’t yet returned to Farmington to be formally charged with burglary and theft.
geez, Since the items were recovered undamaged, do we really have to charge these young ladies with burglary and brand them as thieves for the rest of their lives over what appears to be an isolated intoxicated incident. Maybe they could spend a few weeks sprucing up the trim on the historical society instead?
They chose to drink and to enter the building and to take things that they knew were not theirs.When you make bad choses you need to take the consequence like an adult not a child. Don’t treat them any different than any other criminal.Crime is crime . Wrong is wrong. Do the crime pay the penalty.<
They should be held accountable for their actions….
Tom, Yes we have to charge them.
There’s too much drunk and disorderly conduct going on and its sad to see young people pickling themselves and making lousy choices. Getting wasted and drunk is not cool, its bad for your health and bad for your bank account when you wake up and find out you got on the wrong side of law the night before in a stupor….save your booze money for getting a good education and doing something decent with your life…getting in troble w the law ruins your future and funds your attorneys kids college education instead of yours.
@tom, yes, they are being charged as they should be, but community service is still an option. that would be up to the d.a. if the defendants and/or their legal counsel chose to seek a plea arrangement. and allowing them to seek a plea deal for a first or minor offence is not treating them differently than anybody else.
I agree with Tom, the items have been returned, nothing was damaged, and nobody was hurt. Why put a felony on these young ladies’ records? Why let one drunken mistake haunt them for the rest of their lives and make it harder for them to find jobs later? They were responsible enough to walk instead of drive, nobody got hurt, and it sounds like at least one of them has come clean. There isnt even any property damage, I say chalk it up to being young and dumb, isnt that part of the college experience?
Do you REALLY think that they will end up with a felony on their record? Look up old stories on The Daily Bulldog and you’ll find adults who have burglarized and violated people’s homes ending up with nothing more than a petty slap on their wrists. So don’t think for a minute that these folks will get anything of any consequence for their “drunken” adventure.
Sit in court and you will hear endless defendant and attorney statements, “My client (or I) had been drinking or smoking pot and did not know what we were doing!” Yet, they navigate to and from some destination, do not walk in traffic, do not fall off a bridge, carry stolen objects without tossing them (this instance) and all manner of behavior that seems to indicate they were less than “out of it” – an excuse,
It is past time to allow individuals to be responsible for their actions. We find all manner of excuse, why is that? Society victimizes itself time and again, someone loses, some suffer, some are harmed forever, and we always want to help the poor sot who needs to grow up and be responsible.
Carrying one’s own weight of work, accountability and doing the right thing is ponderous enough. The cost of criminal justice is substantial when it is all added together shocking. They are the cause of cost by police, D.A., Court and others – time to pay for that, which is now a taxpayer assessment. Nothing is free, is it?
Tom,
If I get drunk is it ok if I come remove items from your house?
Tom, I absolutely agree with you. An isolated intoxicated incident. An unlocked door resulted in drunken exploring that has harsh consequences. As a seasoned bartender, I can assure you all there are far worse things that intoxicated people do on a regular basis. I’d love to see a slap on the wrist for this particular “crime”. Ah! To be young, drunk and foolish!
I’m sorry, I have been young, drunk and foolish, but never foolish enough to think I could walk into a place, pick up stuff and carry it off. Community service good idea; wash all the windows in the Octagon House, clean the rest rooms and floors. So many people give of their time and energy to make something nice, for all to enjoy. Thankfully they did not vandalize the place. Put them to work!
I love the idea of them having to wash the windows of the Octagon! And while they are at it let them weed the gardens! It would take them a while and hurt a lot worse than a fine!
I agree with Leslie.they should also have to go to court and receive the sentence so they realize what happens when you do STUPID things.there should also be a monetary fine for costs incurred.
“The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes…”
Wm. Shakespeare