ESSEX — Police have charged one of their former officers with taking equipment from the Essex department during his time on the force — and never returning it.
Edwin Fournier, 45, of 44 Lexington Drive, Hampstead, N.H., was charged late Wednesday with municipal embezzlement — a felony — for taking what police called "a significant" amount of goods and supplies after resigning from his post as a part-time reserve officer in July 2007.
Fournier is a reserve officer in Groveland and Marblehead, according to department rosters and a Groveland department worker.
Essex police Chief Peter Silva yesterday declined to list exactly what Fournier had taken from the department, but said it did not include any guns. He said a dollar value for the equipment was still being calculated, and he could not provide an estimate.
Silva said a conviction for municipal embezzlement could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He said a hearing for Fournier would happen in Gloucester District Court but had not yet been scheduled.
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
