Career Burglar Charged in Connection with Framingham Housebreaks

A Dorchester man was arraigned and held on $5,000 cash bail Wednesday for charges tied to a number of suburban house breaks, including homes in Framingham.

Craig Cromartie, 44, appeared yesterday in Dorchester District Court for 10 counts of receiving stolen property, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. 

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Poirier recommended that he be held on a total of $50,000 cash bail – $5,000 for each docketed offense – and that his bail on similar open cases out of Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester counties be revoked. However, Judge Robert Tochka imposed the $5,000 bail and ordered Cromartie wear a GPS monitoring device if he makes bail, the DA's office said.

According to prosecutors, Cromartie has a long, 27-page criminal history dating back to 1985. After a long-term, multi-agency investigation, Boston Police were led to Cromartie's Dorchester apartment where they executed a search warrant on June 18. They found a number of stolen designer handbags, electronics, jewelry, clothing and collectible coins. 

The items found in Cromartie's apartment were then linked to break-ins in Newton, Brookline, Waltham, Medford, Framingham and Arlington, the DA's office said. The incidents happened through 2011 and early 2012. 

Additional charges may be filed against Cromartie, the DA's office said. He is due back in court on Nov. 1

Cromartie was initially arrested on June 18, when detectives suspect he was responsible for upwards of 200 break-ins which netted over a million dollars in stolen merchandise, (from a report by FOX-25 TV news).

Later in June, Natick Police posted photos to their Facebook page of dozens of items recovered, including rings, watches, currency, silverware and other items.

A full copy of the press release from the Suffolk DA is included below:

BOSTON, Sept. 20, 2012—A longtime B&E man has been charged with multiple counts of receiving stolen property for dozens of items stolen from suburban homes and recovered from his apartment during the execution of a search warrant this summer, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

CRAIG CROMARTIE (D.O.B. 10/6/67) of Dorchester was arraigned yesterday in Dorchester District Court on 10 counts of receiving stolen property. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Poirier recommended that he be held on a total of $50,000 cash bail – $5,000 for each docketed offense – and that his bail on similar open cases out of Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester counties be revoked. Judge Robert Tochka imposed $5,000 bail and ordered that Cromartie wear a GPS monitoring device if he posts that amount.

Amid a long-term, multi-agency investigation, Cromartie was arrested this summer for housebreaks he allegedly committed in Norfolk County. Evidence developed in the course of that investigation led Boston Police to Cromartie’s apartment on Dunkfeld Street in Dorchester, where detectives executed a search warrant on June 18. They recovered designer handbags, electronics, jewelry, collectable coins, and clothing believed to have been stolen.

Those articles were subsequently linked to break-ins in Arlington, Brookline, Framingham, Medford, Newton, and Waltham through 2011 and early 2012 and were identified by their rightful owners. Boston Police then sought complaints against Cromartie for knowingly possessing the stolen items. Additional charges may be forthcoming.

Prosecutors noted Cromartie’s criminal past for the court. He has a 27-page record with adult convictions dating back to 1985. He has been found guilty of breaking and entering in the daytime, breaking and entering in the nighttime, larceny over $250, larceny under $250, larceny by check, identity fraud, assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a public employee, robbery, burglary, possession of burglarious tools, forgery, uttering, counterfeiting a Registry of Motor Vehicles document, giving a false name, distribution of a Class B substance, and other offenses in Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Worcester counties.

Cromartie was represented by attorney Isaac Borenstein. He will return to court on Nov. 1.