Defendant admits guilt after witness IDs him in court
NORWICH – A Coventry man began his trial Tuesday, but pleaded guilty to the top count against after an eyewitness identified him on the stand.
William Lerwick, 59, pleaded guilty to third degree felony mischief for removing around $1,000 worth copper wiring from railroad signal boxes to sell as scrap on Aug. 29, 2007.
“He and his attorney saw the writing on the wall,” said First Assistant Stephen M. Dunshee, after a witness took the stand testifying that she not only saw Lerwick remove the copper from the property, but also presented photographs she took of him, allegedly showing him in the act.
“The good Samaritan photographer,” Linda Devona of Afton, as Dunshee referred to her as, was first and only witness called in the brief bench trial before Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd Tuesday morning.
Dunshee said the wiring was part of a communications and signal system that controlled railroad-vehicle crossing points. Lerwick originally said he found the copper lying in the brush. Dunshee said the removal of the wire was recorded electronically and the patina, the rate of oxidation on the metal, told a different story.
The court clerk’s office said Lerwick would be sentenced later in June. Dunshee said the agreed-upon disposition would sentence the defendant to a year in local jail and the delay in the case was allowed so Lerwick could make arrangements for his mother’s medical care.
The DA’s Office also reported that Lerwick’s co-conspirator, Paula Burrell, pleaded guilty earlier to petit larceny, admitting she helped drive the stolen copper back to the couple’s residence.
William Lerwick, 59, pleaded guilty to third degree felony mischief for removing around $1,000 worth copper wiring from railroad signal boxes to sell as scrap on Aug. 29, 2007.
“He and his attorney saw the writing on the wall,” said First Assistant Stephen M. Dunshee, after a witness took the stand testifying that she not only saw Lerwick remove the copper from the property, but also presented photographs she took of him, allegedly showing him in the act.
“The good Samaritan photographer,” Linda Devona of Afton, as Dunshee referred to her as, was first and only witness called in the brief bench trial before Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd Tuesday morning.
Dunshee said the wiring was part of a communications and signal system that controlled railroad-vehicle crossing points. Lerwick originally said he found the copper lying in the brush. Dunshee said the removal of the wire was recorded electronically and the patina, the rate of oxidation on the metal, told a different story.
The court clerk’s office said Lerwick would be sentenced later in June. Dunshee said the agreed-upon disposition would sentence the defendant to a year in local jail and the delay in the case was allowed so Lerwick could make arrangements for his mother’s medical care.
The DA’s Office also reported that Lerwick’s co-conspirator, Paula Burrell, pleaded guilty earlier to petit larceny, admitting she helped drive the stolen copper back to the couple’s residence.
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