Woman Admits To Armed Robbery In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA —Two who were charged in connection to an armed robbery during which one of them placed a BB gun to a Cushing Road resident's head before stealing several paper bags of his marijuana in 2017 have admitted to it, but neither got jail time, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

John Dinius, 24, of Chestnut Street, pled guilty to armed robbery on June 6 this year. He was identified as the man who had put what appeared to be a black automatic firearm to the head of the Cushing Road resident during the armed robbery. Further investigation eventually revealed that the firearm was a BB gun made as a replica Heckler/Koch .45, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

Although the prosecutors asked he serve three to five years in state prison, Judge Peter Krupp sentenced him to three years probation in June.

Tara Gallagher, 38, of Chestnut Street, changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on Dec. 2. The prosecutors originally indicated that they would request up to two years incarceration, but in light of the court imposing a sentence of probation on the co-defendant who physically held the gun, the prosecutors for the Commonwealth requested that she be found guilty and given two years probation supervision.

Judge Thomas Connors continued the case without a finding for two years with conditions that Gallagher stay away from and have no contact with the Cushing Road resident or her co-defendant and that she seek and maintain employment and continue ongoing treatment.

What happened in 2017?

A police officer happened to be patrolling the area of Milton and Cushing roads when he saw a woman standing in the middle of a driveway who looked like she was yelling and looking toward Cushing Road in the early morning hours, according to a redacted police report. The officer said he then saw a man walking down Cushing Road. As the officer set to talk to the man, he lost sight of him. Right about that same time, a call came over the police radio of a report that two people just entered a home on Cushing Road and put a gun to the caller's head and left.

The Cushing Road resident who called police said he was talking with the man about marijuana when all of a sudden he had a black colored automatic firearm pressed against his head, according to police. Although much of the report was redacted, there was no mention of whether there was any money that was slated to be exchanged for the marijuana.

He told police the two people took his pot and left. Several police officers canvassed the area for the two people he described, found them and then eventually found the firearm that was later determined to be a BB gun, along with several paper bags containing marijuana and glass jars of pot on Walnut Street.

Armed robbery is rare in Brookline. In 2017 overall crime was down in town, according to police data. In 2016 of the 12 robberies that occurred in town, only two involved a firearm, three involved a knife and four were unarmed but considered "strong-arm" robberies. Two of them were home invasions, and one was a bank robbery, according to police data

Previously: 2 Arrested In Connection With Armed Robbery In Brookline

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).