MASSACHUSETTS COMPUTERS STOLEN DA: Thief handed ID to witness during break-in - SalemNews.com, Salem, MA:

DA: Thief handed ID to witness during break-in
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer

SALEM — A homeless man caught rifling through the office of a cleaning company and stealing computer equipment in July made it pretty easy for cops to find him.

He handed his identification to an employee.

Now Peter Lugo, 40, will spend six months in jail, the result of a plea agreement accepted yesterday by a Salem District Court judge.

Lugo was arrested on the evening of July 30 after police got a call about a man who had just stolen computer equipment from New England Gutter Cleaning Co. on Lafayette Street.

An employee had heard strange noises coming from a storage area, prosecutor Caleb Weiner said, and when he saw Lugo, he confronted him and demanded to know who he was.

Lugo handed the man a New York state benefits identification card — complete with his picture — and then left.

Police quickly ran the information through a computer and discovered Lugo was wanted on a warrant from Lynn District Court.

Then, armed with his photo ID, they went looking for him.

They found him a short distance away, as he was getting into a car on Palmer Street, lugging two boxes that turned out to contain the stolen computer equipment, Weiner said.

Lugo's lawyer, Sean Wynne, said his client, who has already spent 48 days in jail because he was unable to make his $2,500 bail, is disabled with a chronic illness.

He said he couldn't explain why his client handed over the ID to a witness.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Lugo was sentenced to 18 months in jail, with six months to be served and the balance suspended for two years. During that time, Lugo will be on probation.

Among his conditions is an order that he stay away from the cleaning company.