SUFFOLK COUNTY JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICER'S TIP LEADS TO
APPREHENSION OF STABBING SUSPECT

Left to right: Suffolk County Juvenile Court Assistant Chief Probation Officer Amy Dolan and Probation Officer Jillian Reardon, who identified MBTA stabbing suspect.

The Probation Officer who identified the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) stabbing suspect is one of five Suffolk County Juvenile Court Probation Officers who helped identify a suspect in a vicious assault or stopped a robbery in progress over the past year.

Yesterday morning, Probation Officer Jillian Reardon recognized the MBTA image of the suspect accused of stabbing a man on the bus. The juvenile is on probation at the court.

"I knew exactly who the suspect was as soon as I looked at the picture. I told my supervisor, pulled his file and booking sheet, confirmed it was him and called the MBTA Transit Police," Reardon said.

She added, “He (the suspect, a juvenile) had just been in the court recently and I have seen him on several other occasions.”

Chief Probation Officer Steven Siciliano commended his Probation Officer, her supervisor Assistant Chief Probation Officer Amy Dolan, and Probation Officer Barbara Loftus who supervises the juvenile’s case.

Chief Siciliano said, “Suffolk County is a safer place to live in today because of the work we do and the great work these PO's did in recognizing this young (but dangerous) person.

He added, “This is a testament to the partnerships we have formed with local law enforcement - without it this young man could still be walking the streets.  I can't begin to put in words how proud I am of Jill, Amy and Barbie and all the PO's at Suffolk Juvenile.” 

Transit Police Lieutenant Detective Mark F. Gillespie said of the apprehension, “Thanks to your staff we removed a very dangerous individual, who was a serious threat to the community, off the street.”

Gillespie commented further, “The work of Suffolk Juvenile PO’s is tremendous. We get things done at the Transit police that may not have been resolved without the partnership of Suffolk Juvenile Probation.”  

Reardon’s supervisor, Amy Dolan, said “PO Jill Reardon is out in the community with Operation STOPWATCH and also regularly conducting Night Light Home Visits with the Boston Police Gang Unit. Partnerships with agencies, such as these, allow her to know her case load inside and out of the courtroom.  This working relationship with the Police was what made the identification possible and helped to locate and arrest a dangerous offender."

Last spring, three Juvenile Probation Officers Frank Larmond, Robert Nagle, and Kevin McClerklin stopped a robbery in progress at the UMASS-Boston train station. Larmond, Naigle, and McClerklin were at the station to help with crowd control when a teenage boy snatched an I-Phone out of the hands of an unsuspecting teenage girl standing on the platform. Larmond, who recognized the juvenile probationer as he streaked by, grabbed him and he was placed under arrest by Transit Police. Coincidentally, the boy, who had a pending case for robbery and armed assault, came into the court earlier in the day.

Another Suffolk Juvenile Court Probation Officer Robert Herman helped Boston Police identify a suspect in the vicious beating of an elderly convenience story clerk. When the suspect came into the Probation Department to meet with his Probation Officer, Herman glanced at him and immediately recognized him as the young man in a still, color surveillance photo supplied by Boston Police Department Detecitve Paul Painten of the Area B-2 Police Precinct.

From identifying suspects in vicious attacks to apprehending a robbery suspect, these Probation Officers are making a difference in the community and an impact on crime.