March 16, 2021
QUINCY, Massachusetts—A married couple have been arrested and charged in connection to a pair of unarmed robberies in a Montclair neighborhood last month.
Authorities stated both victims were older Asian residents, the robberies appeared to be “crimes of opportunity and theft was the motivating factor.” Police said the robberies did not appear to be hate crimes, according to the Patriot Ledger.
34-year-old Brian Kenney and his wife, 38-year-old Angelina Kenney were arrested on Friday and both face charges of unarmed robbery on a person older than 65 and unarmed robbery. They were arraigned in Quincy District Court on Monday. Angelina was released on $500 cash bail. Brian Kenney was held on a $7,500 cash bail and had his bail revoked on two unrelated cases.
The robberies both happened on February 18. The first victim was a 69-year-old man walking toward the North Quincy MBTA station when he was attacked and had his lunch bag stolen. He suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized, reported the Patriot Ledger.
The second robbery happened hours later. Police say a 55-year-old Asian woman had her shoulder bag stolen from her as she walked home from North Quincy station. She was not injured.
Quincy police identified the Kenneys “based on a thorough investigation, which included interviewing witnesses and viewing surveillance footage from local businesses and residences,” the department said in a statement.
Detectives applied for and were granted arrest warrants for the couple on Friday in addition to a search warrant for their home at 100 West Squantum St., where police said they found evidence of the robberies.
Police said they investigated the potential for a hate crime before ruling it out, according to the Patriot Ledger.
“We’ve heard and seen many comments that this was a hate crime. Massachusetts criminal law defines a hate crime as ‘any criminal act coupled with overt actions motivated at least in part by racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender or sexual orientation or sexual orientation prejudice, or bias,'” Quincy police said in a statement. “After a thorough investigation by detectives in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and a review by the Quincy Police Civil Rights Officer, there is no indication that these incidents were motivated by hate”
Feature Images via Patriot Ledger