08/21/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/21/2024 08:00
BOSTON - A Washington D.C. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for stealing thousands of items from a high-end outlet store in Wrentham, Mass.
Linworth Hayes Crawford, III, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to eight months in federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Crawford must also pay $32,000 in restitution to the Gucci store at the Wrentham Outlets. In February 2024, Crawford pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods.
On the evening of Sept. 16, 2021, Crawford, along with his co-defendants Nathaniel Owens, and others traveled from the Washington D.C. area to the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Massachusetts. In the early morning hours of Sept. 17, 2021, Crawford and his co-defendants entered the Gucci store by smashing the store's glass front door and stole $32,000 in high-end merchandise including handbags, duffle bags, backpacks and sunglasses.
The day after the theft, a co-defendant allegedly posted on his Instagram account that he had Gucci bags available for sale. Images of the bags appeared to be identical to the Gucci bags stolen during the burglary earlier that day.
Crawford also took responsibility for a second similar burglary at a Prada store in Dawsonville, Georgia, where $37,000 in merchandise was stolen.
Owens pleaded guilty in April 2024 and is awaiting sentencing.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Wrentham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.