A Chelsea man with a tangled legal past ended up in handcuffs last month after a shoplifting stint turned violent at a local Dollar Tree. According to the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, 41-year-old Robert Mazzeo Jr. filled bags with unpaid goods, assaulted an employee, and then bolted before the police arrived.
With a slate of five outstanding warrants from Chelsea District Court and East Boston BMC already hanging over him, Mazzeo now faces charges of unarmed robbery and assault and battery. During his arraignment, the District Attorney's office moved to revoke Mazzeo’s bail on his warrants, which include shoplifting and larceny among them. Despite the checkered history, Judge Amanda Ward held Mazzeo on $250 bail and scheduled his pre-trial hearing for March 14.
It was approximately 2:22 p.m. on February 11 when Chelsea Police dispatched units to the Dollar Tree at 1090 Revere Beach Parkway. The store's manager reported an assault by an individual, later identified as Mazzeo, after he attempted to leave the store with merchandise he did not pay for. Confronted by the manager, Mazzeo purportedly punched him and pushed him against a wall, as recounted by the victim to police. The altercation reportedly left the victim with minor bruising on the left eye, an injury confirmed by officers on the scene.
Ultimately, Mazzeo dropped the stolen items, valued at just over $200, and fled the scene in a blue Toyota sedan with an unknown woman. Surveillance video from the store provided visual corroboration, which the police used to recognize Mazzeo and secure a warrant for his arrest. "We want workers to be safe in their workplaces and shoppers to be safe in their shopping spaces. Retail crimes hurt everyone—sometimes physically, as in this case, and always from an economic and access angle, not just for the stores involved but the shoppers too, especially when stores close or when frequently-stolen items are locked up," Hayden said in a statement obtained by the D.A.'s office.
Last year saw Hayden's office partner with the Boston Police Department, retailer associations, and local small business owners to launch the Safe Shopping Initiative. Forming amid increasing unease around retail crime and the shuttering of shops that serve minority communities in Boston, the initiative's aim is to bolster consumer safety and equip store managers with strategies to manage and mitigate shoplifting and retail larcenies.
