A UPS nighttime package handler, or “night loader,” pleaded not guilty in Edgartown District Court on Oct. 18 to 10 larceny charges.
Anthony B. Gonzalez was arrested by Tisbury Police for allegedly filching approximately $10,000 worth of CB Stark jewelry from packages at the Vineyard UPS sorting facility. The Martha’s Vineyard Times learned of the case in September, after receiving information from a bicycle commuter about torn-open UPS packages found on the bicycle path along Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road. At the request of Tisbury Police, the newspaper delayed publishing a story because doing so might have jeopardized an ongoing investigation. Though Tisbury Police Chief Mark Saloio said he would let the newspaper know when an arrest was made, it took being reminded last week to get the records released.
Gonzalez was arrested on Oct. 12 at the Tisbury Police Station after he was interviewed by Sgt. Max Sherman, a police report shows. Per that report, Sherman met with CB Stark manager Sarah York on Sept. 24, and learned a number of UPS packages containing jewelry had been “ripped open and left on the side of the road in Edgartown.”
Sherman reached out to local UPS manager Tim McNerney, who explained some of the packages that went missing were left in a locked truck to be unloaded for sorting, but were never scanned for sorting, while others were scanned for sorting but never loaded onto a trailer headed off-Island. Sherman informed McNerney he would let UPS investigate and circle back. On Sept. 30, McNerney informed Sherman more ripped-open packages were found, and a “night loader” was suspected. Gonzalez worked on the right evenings and on the right loads to have access to the missing packages, the report indicates.
“McNerney set up a video camera the night of Sept. 30th, but stated it was hard to see Gonzalez take anything,” the report states. “He did state that Gonzalez was in and out of the cab of the truck for no reason. There are video cameras already inside the building. The only way Gonzalez could have snuck the previous packages out without being seen was opening the cab door and dropping them on the ground, to be picked up after he leaves work.”
After Sept. 30, Gonzalez was a no-show for work, the report states. McNerney was allegedly told by Gonzalez he would be in Connecticut “to take care of a few things.” He never returned to work. On Oct. 12, Sherman used the New England State Police Information Network (NESPIN), and found Gonzalez allegedly sold jewelry to Cape Cod Gold and Silver in Sandwich for $710. Upon contacting Cape Cod Gold and Silver, Sherman was emailed photos of jewelry and a Connecticut driver’s license belonging to Gonzalez.
Upon viewing the jewelry pictures, York said they depicted missing CB Stark jewelry, and CB Stark jewelry nobody knew was missing. At the request of Sherman, Edgartown Police went to Gonzalez’s grandparents’ house in an attempt to locate him. Officers were told Gonzalez had left to pick up his girlfriend at a Steamship Authority terminal.
Early in the evening of Oct. 12, Gonzalez came to the Tisbury Police Station voluntarily. After being read Miranda rights, a report indicates, he was interviewed by Sherman. He was shown a picture of his license with jewelry in the frame, at which time Gonzalez allegedly said that was indeed his license, and produced it from his wallet. He also allegedly stated he’d never been to Sandwich, and doesn’t have a car. Asked how he got to Connecticut, Gonzalez allegedly said he lied to get out of work. Asked why he was in the cab of a UPS vehicle when he wasn’t supposed to be, Gonzalez allegedly said it was to smoke a cigarette.
After further questioning, Sherman arrested Gonzalez. He was charged with three counts of larceny from a building, three counts of larceny over $1,200, and four counts of larceny under $1,200.
On Oct. 15, Sherman received a report from the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office. The report alleged that while Gonzalez was on the telephone trying to assemble funds to cover his $5,000 bail, he told his girlfriend the following three things:
“I feel like such a [expletive]; I’m sorry about this.”
“They got a picture of my ID at the pawn store.”
“I was trying to save up for your birthday.”
Gonzalez later allegedly spoke with a deputy and said, “I don’t know if you read the police report but … I did steal from my job.”
York declined to comment on the thefts. UPS spokesman Matthew O’Connor deferred “to the investigating authorities for comment.”
Sgt. Sherman said he was not present at the arraignment, but will likely be present at future legal proceedings in the matter.
Tom Pallas, the bicyclist who refers to himself as Spokémon and found the ripped-open boxes, said he did so as part of litter collection he does during his commute between Vineyard Haven and Edgartown along Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road. He found the packages on Sept. 19.
Robert Moriarty, attorney for Gonzalez, said his client is out on bail, and bail has been reduced from $5,000.
Gonzalez is slated for a pretrial hearing in Edgartown on Jan. 23.
Interesting. $5000.00 bail for a nonviolent crime. Jermaine Sharpe attacked someone and got out in $500.00 bail. He then violated that bail and went to jail for a month. Back in court on other charges he was again given a $500.00 bail. Go figure.
Arrested on October 12th 2019-and the Times has to request info about the case last week, which they were told by the Tisbury P. D. that they would let them know. I’ve never seen so much secrecy from a Public Agency that i foot the bill for-it just keeps getting worse .
October 11th was when the Nichols article came out, so I am assuming the Chief was too busy dealing with the nationwide media frenzy that occurred and must have forgotten to let the Times know an arrest in this case had been made. I especially like the part in this article where it states that Sgt. Sherman will let McNerney (UPS Manager) investigate the theft and circle back. I thought the police were the ones who were getting paid to investigate. Silly me.
BRAVO!
How stupid can you get? Let’s hear it for Sherlock the Cyclist! Hope this young guy learns his lesson and straightens out his life. A liar and a thief is not a winning combo. How many people would be so lucky to have a good job with UPS?!
This proves all you need is UPS and a bicyclist to solve crime….get rid of the police and their over the top salaries!
What can Brown do for you? Apparently more than Blue! At least the UPS trucks leave their station!
Why so much invective aimed at the Police Dept? The real story is all the garbage on our roadways. I’ve been clearing trash from the bike path off and on for 10 years. Nips & water bottles & soda cans & envelopes & shopping bags & coffee cups & newsprint & boxes & on and on. Two days later, deja-vu. It’s just as bad along the sidewalks and roads. Starting in 2020, stop littering. If you see litter, pick it up. Let’s all chip in to keep the shine on this gem we call home.
Tom Pallas- thank you for being a Good Samaritan and picking up trash, the point is however, the tisbury police aren’t doing their jobs! They have a reputation for not doing the right thing, such as violating citizens rights! They also haven’t been out issuing tickets for littering (nip bottles etc.) it seems people like you, the bicyclist, and the UPS do more to make this a better place to live and fight crime than the police.
Islander, it seems that way due to misreporting. However if you listen to the scanner and request police reports, Tisbury seems more proactive than any other department on the island. How would you expect the police to actively enforce littering bylaws? Stand on the side of the road and wait for someone to drop a nip on the ground?
Please get a grip on reality CommonSense. I listen to the police scanner regularly, and it is nothing compared to living in the real world or a city. There is so much ACTUAL crime that goes on off-island your head would spin. We have a very low crime rate on MV, the police mostly respond to alarm calls, assist on hospital runs, direct traffic and pull over the occasional driver. The least the police could do is enforce littering on MV. AMEN Islander.
You seem to have the answer for everything. As someone who grew up off-island I am well aware of the crime that happens over there. It may spin the heads of simple minds, but to say it doesn’t happen on the Island is naivety. My grip on reality is as tight as one’s could be. Merry Christmas.
Islander– i am sure if the police see someone littering they wold issue a ticket.
But most people who litter look around a bit before they throw something out the window. I personally think most of the litter blows out of the back of open pick up trucks. I often see construction workers carelessly toss an empty coffee cup or beverage container into the back of a truck. Of course it’s going to blow out eventually. I haven’t seen any of the prisoners out on litter patrol lately..Do they still do that ?
CommonNonsense- Do your homework.
The overall crime rate in Vineyard Haven is 81% lower than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 1.43 daily crimes that occur in Vineyard Haven. Vineyard Haven is safer than 84% of the cities in the United States. In Vineyard Haven you have a 1 in 193 chance of becoming a victim of any crime. Source: https://www.areavibes.com/vineyard+haven-ma/crime/
I never once stated that Vineyard Haven is a dangerous place, let alone the island as a whole. Let’s not pretend it’s a perfect Disneyland. Please reread my initial comment if needed.
That website is also using estimates per the disclaimer on the bottom of the page. There are “n/a’s” next to almost every single crime category lol. That doesn’t seem reliable and is a mere estimate in comparison to the MA average.
I sometimes wonder if people actually read the articles fully, as well as, the comments. From what I read, Sgt. Sherman did his job, and was assisted by the UPS manager. It never ceases to amaze me that people become experts in law enforcement, having actually never done the job before. It happens with alot of different professions, not just with the police. I think people just feel good bashing others, really shows a person’s true character. But I bet those same people who bash the police while hiding behind their keyboards are the same people who would dial 911 at 3:00am as a stranger was coming into their home through an unlocked door or window. I’m grateful for what the police do. They may not be perfect, but then again, who is? Such a thankless profession. I have family members who are police officers off island and am proud of what they do. I have met officers on island and all have been polite and professional. Maybe look in the mirror at your own short comings before putting them down. So easy to do on social media. I wonder what words would roll off your tongue when face to face with these fine men and women…. Crickets most likely.
You’ve misjudged us. We’re not the people who call the cops when someone’s breaking into our house; We call the coroner.
I have to agree, if someone enters your castle…. Game on!
Last time I read about someone breaking into a house in the paper it was a police chief and he threw up on their floor… after they dialed 911.
Totally professional of course…
…and just a FYI, the TPD tried to cover that up.
My bad. Why so much invective aimed at each other?