Hyannis, MA – A 56-year-old woman was arrested for stealing an auction prize from a fundraiser in honor of murdered Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon.
Maureen Wiggin, 56, hadn’t even purchased a $25 ticket to attend the event on Friday night when she showed up and helped herself to a sports-themed gift basket slated to be sold at a silent auction, the Boston Herald reported.
Police were called to the fundraiser at about 10:30 p.m. on June 22 after several people noticed something missing. The item Wiggin snatched contained a decorative blue box with golf balls, baseball hats, and a variety of shirts, according to police.
Wiggin’s bold theft was captured on surveillance video at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa where the event was held, the Boston Herald reported.
“A review of the security video showed a woman removing the item from a table and leaving the venue,” according to a statement posted on the official Barnstable Police Department Facebook page.
The fundraiser featuring the silent auction was titled “Back the Blue/A Night to Remember Sean,” and was organized in tribute to Sgt. Gannon, a K9 handler who was killed in the line of duty April 12.
Sgt. Gannon was fatally shot while trying to serve a warrant on a repeat offender who already had at least 111 charges on his record.
His partner, K9 Nero, was also wounded, but he has since recovered and gone home to live with the fallen hero’s family, WBTS reported.
Barnstable police officers located Wiggins at her home in Hyannis, and questioned her, according to the Boston Herald. She was initially uncooperative until she was confronted with the video, police said.
Eventually, the stolen auction item was recovered from the trunk of Wiggin’s car, and returned to the charitable event.
Police said Wiggin would be charged with larceny of property under $1,200.
“We as police officers see a lot of this happen in a lot of forums, but you just can’t believe someone would stoop that low to do that. This is typical of what’s happening in our society today,” Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson said of the theft to the Boston Herald.
“It’s just kind of sad that it took place. If Officer Gannon were involved in this he would probably look at the individual a little deeper than just someone who stole from a wonderful charity event. Like, what else may have been going on there?” Chief Frederickson said, as he recalled the officer’s compassionate nature.
The fundraising event was sponsored by the Behavioral Health Provider Coalition of Cape Cod and the Islands and with 100 percent were dedicated to the Yarmouth Police Foundation in Sgt. Gannon’s memory.
