Cragislist catches a thief

Craigslist.com and ebay.com are used by many people to buy and sell items, but how many people can say they have caught a criminal using these sites?

One North Easton man caught a thief who stole more than $15,000 worth of sports memorabilia, electronics and jewelry from his home Friday, Dec 1 just by searching craigslist.com.

Donald Charron, 53, of 305 Turnpike Street, lot #7 was arrested for robbing a home located at 29 Summer Street in North Easton on Monday, Dec. 11.

According to police, they responded to a call from a homeowner at 29 Summer Street in North Easton who reported a baseball card collection and autographed Ted Williams baseball stolen, along with a digital camera, a computer, jewelry and other items.

After reporting the theft, the homeowner then searched ebay.com and craigslist.com, which are Internet sites that allow people to set up accounts to buy and sell various items from other people. The homeowner ended up finding a post on craigslist that described his collection of baseball cards and signed baseball, police said.

Deputy Chief Allen Krajcik said a lot of times stolen things can pop up on sites like ebay.com and craigslist.com, so it was a good idea for the homeowner to check those sites. He said thefts should be reported to the police first, before conducting your own search.

Easton Police and Detective Sgt. Jack Lynn then conducted an investigation and ended up tracking down the seller to an account at 305 Turnpike Street in Easton.

According to police, Lynn set up fake email account and contacted Charron by email to arrange a meeting. Lynn met with Charron on Monday, Dec. 1 at Charron’s residence. During the meeting, Charron showed Lynn the missing baseball cards and baseball.

Lynn obtained a search warrant for Charron’s property and returned with Detective Sgt. William Fulcher and Detective Michael Fox; patrol officers Steven Hamilton and Patrick Taylor assisted with the property search, police said.

The stolen sports memorabilia, electronics and jewelry were recovered, and Charron was charged with receiving stolen property and possession of Class D marijuana. During the search, police learned Charron had been hired to do yard work at another residence on Summer Street; they believe he may have committed the burglary during that time.

According to police, Charron has an extensive criminal record and was held on $25,000 bail. He was arraigned on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Taunton District Court and was held on a higher bail of $50,000.