A Vineyard Haven man has been accused of claiming a zip pouch full of cash from the Edgartown Police Department that didn’t belong to him, and later allegedly telling a detective he took it because he believed police would keep it.
Edgartown Police are seeking larceny by false pretense, larceny from a building, forgery of a document, and utterance of a false instrument charges against the man. The charges have yet to be presented in court.
“I took great umbrage that the gentleman implied that we would take the money for ourselves,” Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee said.
On August 7, a good Samaritan found the zip pouch or “child’s wallet” with $714 at State Beach, according to a police report. The next day a woman came to the station to ask if a pencil carrier with a cartoon cat image on it had been recovered. She told police it contained about $700. Police initially couldn’t find the pouch, but eventually discovered it had been turned over to a man named Marc Schoenfeld. The woman told police she didn’t know that man, and hadn’t authorized him to retrieve the pouch, according to a report. Police asked if she had made social media posts about the pouch or told other people. The woman, according to a report, said she had not.
Sgt. Ryan Ruley reached out to the good Samaritan, and explained what had happened. Sgt. Ruley asked if the good Samaritan knew Schoenfeld.
“She advised she did and that they were neighbors,” a report states. “She stated that she could not believe he had done this, and advised that she had been at a dinner party the night she turned in the bag. She stated that she had told the people at the party (to include Marc) that she had turned the bag in with the 700.00 dollars to the police. [The good Samaritan] stated that she had given some of the details about the bag and the contents to the individuals at the party. She also stated that Marc seemed particularly interested in what happened, and told her that she should have kept the bag.”
Edgartown Police subsequently asked Tisbury Police to inform Schoenfeld they wanted to talk with him. Tisbury Police Sgt. Jeff Day did so, and later rendezvoused with Det. Curtis Chandler.
“Sgt. Day did as requested, and Tisbury transported Marc and the bag (which Marc provided) to the high school, where I met them and completed the transport to my station. Marc was not handcuffed during transportation,” a report states.
In an interview room with video and audio recording underway, Schoenfeld was read his Miranda rights, and agreed to speak with Det. Chandler and Sgt. Michael Snowden, according to a police report.
Schoenfeld allegedly stated he knew why police wanted to speak to him, and specifically referenced the pouch of money, according to a report.
Schoenfeld was asked how he learned about the pouch.
“He stated that he had been at a dinner party at a neighbor’s house and that [the good Samaritan] had stated that she had found a bag with money in it,” a report says. “He stated that he asked her why she turned it in to the police because ‘they’ are just going to keep it and not return it.”
After further conversation with Schoenfeld, police determined he acted alone.
“Marc explained that he had driven by for work and decided to stop and come into the station to claim the bag,” a report states. “He stated that he had written down some notes to remind himself about what the bag looked like and what was in it. He stated that he entered the police department and spoke with the department assistant. He told her that his wife had sent him to the Edgartown Police Department to see if a [pouch] had been turned into the police department with 700.00 dollars in it and that it was found at the beach. He did not describe the bag but was able to tell the department assistant that there were [five] or [six] 100 dollar bills and the remainder was smaller denominations. He stated that he then completed an EP-3 release form and signed it. He also provided his driver’s license, which was photocopied.”
When asked what he planned to do with the money, Schoenfeld allegedly stated that he “was going to hold on to it to see if anyone reached out about it and then would return it,” a report states.
Det. Chandler informed Schoenfeld that “what he did was wrong,” according to a report, and further told him he was offended at the suggestion the police would take the money. Det. Chandler told Schoenfeld to expect a criminal summons.
Chief McNamee said his staff does a good job of returning lost property, and continued to express his disgust at the suggestion that cash would be appropriated by the department.
McNamee provided stats that show in 2020 Edgartown Police managed 109 incidents of lost property, 154 incidents of found property, and returned 87 pieces of property. In 2021, those numbers are 143 incidents of lost property, 136 of found property, and 91 pieces returned.
McNamee said the good Samaritan told him she felt the alleged actions of Schoenfeld “took the shine” from the good deed, “to which I assured her it did not.”
Congratulations to Elizabeth Loucks for doing the right thing and turning in that wallet. You really did something for that (real) owners life.
To Edg. Chief McNamee, don’t worry, no one would ever confuse your ethical, well run Dept with that of another unethical, less well run Dept.
Your good reputation is safe.
I’m sorry, but if Ms. Loucks was really such a Good Samaritan she wouldn’t have found it necessary to advertise her good deed in great detail at a dinner party that night.
Gayle, in defense of reason, you are criticizing her for the contents of a conversation in a private dinner party, among friends and acquaintances.
That is hardly comparable to broadcasting this good deed on social media.
You really ought to apologize for casting aspersions upon her motives.
The comment section has become the modern equivalent of the wooden stocks once located in the town commons where people could be exposed to ridicule and shame from transgressions both real and imagined.