Templeton Man Charged In Vineyard Theft

Templeton Man Charged In Vineyard Theft Bank error leads to larceny from vacation home

Damien Fisher News Staff Writer OAK BLUFFS  A bank error resulted in a seasonal home on Martha’s Vineyard getting burglarized by the Templeton man hired to winterize it, according to police. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Oak Bluffs Police Detective Jeffrey LaBell. Now James Wilson, 29, of 24 Drury Lane in Templeton is charged with larceny from a building for allegedly stealing a washing machine and clothes dryer, as well as dozens of framed prints, an oil painting and a wood carving from the home. Wilson is currently free on personal recognizance after being arraigned on the charge on Friday. The trouble started in November, when the owner of an Oak Bluffs home found out that the bank mistakenly started a foreclosure process on the home, and had hired an outside contractor to weatherize and lock the property for the winter. The contractor subcontracted the work out to Wilson’s company, according to the police report. Before the home’s owner could get the bank’s error corrected and have the foreclosure stopped, Wilson is alleged to have taken the opportunity to steal items from the home, including the artwork and appliances, according to an Oak Bluffs police report. Oak Bluffs police were able to identify Wilson in ferry surveillance footage operating a pick up truck carrying a washer and dryer that matched the ones taken from the home, according to the report. The washer and dryer were later sold to a business. According to the report, Wilson took items from foreclosed properties when he works for a Gardner foreclosure company. He would mark the items down as “garbage” and then sell them or keep them, the report states. Police report that many of the items in Wilson’s home come from foreclosed properties. On Tuesday, police executed a search warrant for Wilson’s home and found the wood carving that was taken from the Oak Bluffs house, according to the report. Police also found a plastic bag containing fireworks that are illegal in Massachusetts. Wilson will be charged in Gardner District Court for the fireworks possession, according to the report. LaBell said Friday that Wilson turned himself in to authorities this week, and was arraigned in Edgartown District Court for the larceny charge.