A man from Freetown, Mass., was arrested on Monday night for keeping an 86-inch flat-screen TV that was mailed to his home by mistake, according to Boston 25 News.
Nick Memmo, 35, told the outlet what occurred at his home the night of his arrest: “They surrounded the house and knocked on the door with flashlights coming through all the windows. They told me to come outside then handcuffed me.”
Memmo said that he originally bought and paid for a 74-inch flat-screen TV on Amazon, but when the 86-inch arrived, delivered by a third-party shipping company, he chose not to return the larger model. The police found it mounted on to his wall.
“I looked into all the laws and said, ‘You know, it’s a scratch ticket. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,'” he said, adding that “Amazon said I had nothing to worry about. I made no wrong decisions at that point.”
The shipping company, however, disagrees. They allegedly made numerous calls to Memmo before they finally went to police.
Several days before his arrest, police attempted to question Memmo. “I answered what questions I could without putting myself in jeopardy,” he said. “I said, ‘Do I need to hire an attorney?’ and they said I wasn’t under investigation at that point. They were just asking questions. I answered a lot of questions with ‘I don’t know’ just so I didn’t jeopardize myself.”
The shipping company claims that Memmo signed for the incorrect delivery, which Memmo disputes. He also said that he never informed them he was someone he is not. According to Freetown Police Department, they were informed by the delivery service that two televisions had been delivered and one was delivered by mistake. “The delivery service contacted police after several unsuccessful attempts to recover the television. Police then visited the residence where they spoke with the male in an effort to recover the television. Unfortunately, he refused to cooperate,” the FPD said.
Memmo is now facing jail time. He says if he knew he would be arrested, he would have paid for the larger TV or returned it.
Memmo was charged with larceny Over $1,200 by false pretense and misleading a police officer.
