Stoneham Church Collection Box Thief Pleads Guilty, Sentenced

STONEHAM, MA - A Cambridge man pleaded guilty to stealing from his childhood parish when he robbed a Stoneham church's collection box.

John McHale, 52, copped to larceny from a building, breaking into a depository, possession of a burglarious tools, and malicious destruction of property under $250 in connection with the February theft of St. Patrick's Church collection box. McHale was sentenced to two and a half years in the House of Corrections with 18 months to serve and the balance suspended for one year on and after time served.

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On February 20, at about 11:40 a.m., Stoneham Police responded to a report of a breaking and entering into the Saint Patrick’s Church collection box. McHale used a screwdriver to pry open the collection box and take the roughly $100 inside. A church janitor who saw the theft took photos McHale as he left the scene. Surveillance footage also showed McHale breaking into the collection box on October 9, 2016.

McHale was arrested in Lynn on March 8 and arraigned in Woburn District Court the next day.

Photo from Stoneham PD