BANGOR, Maine — The woman who pawned the rings stolen from the home of former Major League Baseball player Matt Stairs pleaded guilty Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center to charges related to that theft and two others.
Andrea J. Bouchard, 28, of Old Town admitted that she pawned items stolen from homes in Bangor, Milford and Kenduskeag earlier this year, Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said Tuesday.
Bouchard and her husband, Jamie Bouchard, 34, of Old Town were indicted last month by the Penobscot County grand jury in connection with the burglaries and thefts in late May and early June, according to the district attorney’s office. The couple were arrested on June 18.
She pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and receiving stolen property, all Class B crimes. Almy said Tuesday that a sentencing date has not been set but that he would recommend a sentence of three years with all but 120 days, or four months, suspended and two years of probation.
Almy said Tuesday that he expected Andrea Bouchard would be ordered to pay restitution but did not estimate how much that might be.
The case against Jamie M. Bouchard is pending, the prosecutor said. The Old Town man was indicted last month on two counts of burglary and two counts of theft by unauthorized taking, both Class B crimes.
His next court appearance is set for Oct. 12. He remains at the Penobscot County Jail unable to make $30,000 cash bail. His wife is free of $1,000 cash bail.
Class B crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. A Class B theft is defined as taking something valued at $10,000 or more.
Stairs was in Canada for his induction into New Brunswick’s Sports Hall of Fame the weekend of June 9-10 when his daughter called to say the family home in Bangor had been burglarized, according to a previously published report. The burglars took jewelry, including his National League and American League championship rings, a National League championship pendant belonging to his wife, and some watches.
The Moncton, New Brunswick, native told the Bangor Daily News in July that he and his family would be moving to F redericton, New Brunswick, in the near future.
He said they had discussed the move for years and the recent house burglary expedited the decision. Stairs bought a house in Bangor in November 2000, the same day he was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Chicago Cubs.
He said in July that even after his family moves back to New Brunswick, he intends to continue as a part-time studio analyst for Boston Red Sox games with the New England Sports Network. He is in his first year with NESN.
BDN writers Ryan McLaughlin and Larry Mahoney contributed to this report.
I hope that Matt and others got their items back. It’s sad what our community is turning into. Someone stole from my property during the night 3 years ago. It’s not so much worrying about the items I lost, but worrying about the safety of my family. You just don’t what harm their desperate, drug/alcohol induced ‘criminal minded’ actions are going to cause you.
Now why wouldn’t the pawn shop owner question if these items were hers…cmon what would she be doing with those rings? I thought by law pawn shops had to ask for proof that these items were hers. The pawn shops could not only lose the money they paid to the criminal but the items get confiscated by the police if the items they buy are stolen.
My thoughts exactly.
Cmon, most pawn shops are as crooked at the stolen merchandise being pawned there. That is exactly how they stay in business
As usual, the punishment does not fit the crimes. The DA is going to recommend 4 months!! What a joke. Why even bother to arrest them.
To much time to spend on a first offense. Should be 1 year probation.. When my house got robbed the police told me they wouldn’t look into it because I wasn’t an elitist.. I don’t believe we will find the thief so we won’t look…
It is all who you are.
I really wish that you werent right in that statement, but i know that you are:(
Ya me too .
My wife and I were one of the lucky one’s who were robbed by this couple .
To our knowledge, only one of my wife’s rings was recovered, and has yet to be returned to her.
Evidence or something? We don’t feel very secure in our own home these days.
We have taken steps to insure that this doesn’t happen again, but the security companies we spoke with say there is no way to keep them out, only ways to slow them down or deter them.
There is no amount of punishment that will bring back our piece of mind and security.
I am truly sorry for your loss of your possessions and your sense of security. People of this area need to speak up and demand more from the city government and police force. People dont feel safe walking down the street anymore, allowing their kids to play outside alone or go away on vacation because of what may happen. Its disgusting and i am truly getting tired of hearing from the police that this is NORMAL…and its not increasing or they are shorthanded….Do something…Do your JOB!!!!!
Insured by Smith and Wesson. Put that sticker on your doors and back it up.
So this more than likely means she will have to reimburse Matt by breaking into more homes for the cash?
My home was another one this couple robbed. There were others involved as well so I’m not sure why these two are the only ones being charged but with deals being made with criminals I’m not surprised. This guy just got out of prison a few months ago and is still on probation so he should be looking at a whole lot more time than this….she is just as bad as he is and was turning in jewelry every week at a cash for gold business…they made a lot of money off this stolen jewelry and none of the victims will ever see their items again! They should both get more punishment than this…as well as the others that were involved!
Almy said Tuesday that a sentencing date has not been set but that he would recommend a sentence of three years with all but 120 days, or four months, suspended and two years of probation.
Once again our DA proves how completely inept he is to hold people accountable for breaking the law. What kind fo message does this send to people interested in moving to Maine and the Bangor area when you can be robbed of your possessions and this is what our DA believes the punishment should be…..I am sorry Matt Stairs. You were an excellent coach in the area, a true gentleman, and unfortunately our city government obviously doesnt think much of you or your residence. They should be ashamed of themselves. I know that I am truly ashamed of them.
Pretty sure that Matt Stairs is a native of St. John, NB – not Moncton. Minor detail in the scheme of the article but still something that should be fact-checked.