Brookline Police Sting: Backpack Stolen At Church? Police Arrest 2

BROOKLINE, MA— Brookline Police nabbed two in connection with a case of a backpack reportedly stolen from a church this weekend after the man who's backpack went missing got a phone call with someone bribing him to get it back.

Enter a Brookline Police Sting.

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A Brookline man went into church in Boston on Sept. 10 and came out, short a backpack. In his backpack he had his Apple Ipod mini, a laptop, both his Chilean and US passports, notebooks, a sweater and medication. he went to the Boston Police to report the incident, according to police.

But the next day, he got a phone call from a number he didn't recognize. The voice on the other end of the line told him they had his stuff. The person, told the Brookline man his name was Jason and he was homeless and had fallen on hard times. That's why, he said, he would need $2,000 in order to return the bag and items inside, police said.

"Jason" said he would give the Brookline man until noon Sept.12 to come up with the money. So, working with Brookline detectives, the Brookline man called the number back the following morning and the two agreed to meet at 1 Brookline Place at noon.

Detectives went to the area to conduct surveillance. Jason told the man over the phone if the cops were around he'd run. The plan was still on, until Jason called and told him he wanted to change the meet up time and then reduced the price from $2,000 to $1,500, according to Brookline police.

At 3 p.m. the suspect contacted the reporting party a number of times attempting to reschedule and change locations of their meeting, according to police. Eventually, "Jason" told the Brookline man to meet him at a location in the area of Harvard Street. The two found each other as police watched from afar.

"Jason" told the man his girlfriend, Ginelle, actually had the bag but that once the Brookline resident gave him the money he would get his bag back. The resident said he had to go to get money from an ATM, and started to do so while the suspect sat on a wall outside. But, officers said it appeared he got nervous and left.

While the two were separated, the Brookline resident told officers about the conversation and officers said they recognized the girlfriend’s name as someone they were familiar with from previous incidents and arrests.

Police watched "Jason" make his way to a bus hut at 99 Harvard Street, where they saw a woman sitting holding a black backpack. A short time later the suspect attempted to board a number 65 MBTA bus. Officers stopped the bus, and asked the two to disembark, asking them if they had anything that wasn't theirs in their possession.

The main suspect stated "the backpack" and pointed to the black backpack and began to cry. He told police he was in a "bad place" and "knew he shouldn't have done it" but both of them were homeless and just trying to get money to try and keep afloat, according to police.

The suspect told police he had found the black pack in the area of the Hynes Convention Center. Police searched the backpack and found the reporting party's birth certificate and passports.

"Jason" turned out to be Sean Oconnor, 32, and he and Ginelle Thompson, 28, both of Burlington, were arrested on Harvard Street and charged at 6:12 p.m. with : Receiving Stolen Property Over $250. The reporting party’s property was returned to him.