Local man eyed in Eliot heist
Published on May 7th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - A Stoneham resident is reportedly being eyed in an Eliot, Maine burglary last week that netted "several hundred thousand dollars in cash" for a pair of robbers posing as police officers, according to Eliot and Stoneham police officials.
Paul Orman, 28, of 1 Stonehill Drive, Stoneham, Apartment 5F, was arrested by Stoneham Police on May 2 at 7:19 p.m. as a fugitive from justice inside his apartment building at 1 Stonehill Drive.
A May 1 search of Orman's apartment building yielded $120,000 in cash, a high-power rifle, and a small amount of steroids and hypodermic syringes, according to Stoneham police armed with a pair of search warrants from Woburn District Court.
"We believe that there may still be some money out there that is unaccounted for," said Stoneham Police Lt. Rick McCarthy. "There may have been as much as $200,000 taken from the Maine home."
According to Eliot Police Detective Corporal Jeffrey Shisler, a pair of men posed as police and flashed a badge as they forced their way into an Eliot home during the pre-dawn hours of May 1.
The suspects then handcuffed the 67 year-old male resident, and forced both the handcuffed man and the his wife to the floor before demanding money from them. according to police reports.
"Several hundred thousands of dollars was reported to have been stolen during the incident," wrote Shisler, who issued a press release but didn't wish to elaborate on the details of the case.
There was no weapon used in the burglary, according to Eliot and Stoneham police sources.
The Stoneham connection to the case came into tighter focus when Stoneham officers responded to an assault call at 1 Stonehill Drive in the early hours of Thursday, May 1.
The 49 year-old son of the burglary victims, alleged to be a friend of Orman's, was reportedly engaged in a scuffle with the muscular Orman that left the 49 year-old bloodied and bruised.
The victim further alleged that Orman rushed at him with a small knife during the altercation. according to police reports.
Stoneham Police arrested Orman for assault with a dangerous weapon (knife) and simple assault and battery.
The victim was transported to Melrose/Wakefield Hospital for his injuries, and provided information to Stoneham Police about his "friend" Orman's alleged involvement in the home invasion.
"You see it on television where one person turns another person in, and it does happen sometimes," said McCarthy. "When it's your own butt on the line, loyalty and friendship usually go right out the window in these kind of cases."
Stoneham Police returned to the Stonehill Drive apartment at approximately 10:22 p.m. on May 1, and executed a comprehensive search of the apartment building.
A green duffel bag containing $100,000 in $100 bills and Orman's personal belonging was found in a second floor trash closet, according to Stoneham police sources.
Stoneham Police also reportedly recovered an additional $20,000 and a small amount of steroids and needles from the apartment itself. A search of Orman's storage closet also allegedly unearthed another duffel bag filled with a Blue Sky carbine semi-automatic .30 caliber rifle and a detached, loaded 31 round magazine.
Orman was arrested in the apartment building in the early evening of Friday, May 2, was held over the weekend, and was arraigned on Monday, May 5 at Woburn District Court. Orman faces local charges of receiving stolen property over $250, illegal possession of a large capacity firearm, improper storage of a large capacity firearm, possession of a firearm without an FID card, illegal possession of a hypodermic needle, illegal possession of a Class E substance (steroids), and fugitive from justice without warrant charge.
Orman was arraigned and is being held without bail at the Middlesex County Jail in Cambridge, and is next scheduled for a status hearing on June 3. Orman will most likely be extradited to Maine for probable burglary charges from the Eliot Police Department within the next month.
"We'll probably be sending a District Attorney down there to handle all the paperwork over the next few weeks," said Shisler.
Both Stoneham and Eliot police officials refused to release the victim's names, and wouldn't speculate on details involving the exorbitant amounts of cash stored in the Eliot home.
"This case is still under investigation, and there are some things I don't want to comment on," said McCarthy.
Stoneham and Eliot Police, along with Maine State Police, are still searching for Orman's alleged accomplice in the Eliot home invasion.
"We have an idea of who it might be, but it's something we're still working on," said McCarthy.
Orman's attorney, Bradford Keene of Lynnfield, preferred not to comment on the investigation or the charges against his client.
"It's my policy not to comment on ongoing cases," said Keene.
The past week's arrest came just months after Orman was arrested on drug possession charges when he allegedly passed out behind the steering wheel of his car and crashed into a snowbank on Main Street.
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