Another Tewksbury standout!!!Seems like every week another Thief from the town is caught!!! Nice work police!!!

Someone has been messing with my garage door keypad at night...I wonder if that will stop now. Camera's here we come!!!

All I have to say is this is very sad..Another good family I've know for years..I know hes an adult and is responsible for his own actions but Ive known him all his life and I know for a fact that this is another situation of getting caught up with the wrong kids..I feel for his family no parents should ever have to go through this but hopefully he will now get the help that he needs. Unfortunately you have to hit rock bottom before things can get better and hopefully this will be his rock bottom. See everyone thinks they have it tough or have a bad life growing up here is a perfect example of a family that has been involved together with everything.

Sad? Get the help he needs?......please what about the help that the victims need. My house was hit a month ago during the day while I was out working at my 2nd job. Two jobs sometimes 16 hours a day and while I am out someone maybe even this guy comes into my house and grabs diamond rings, wedding bands, and other things that can not be replaced. The guy who came into my house did not get caught up with the wrong kids He WAS the wrong kid. The only sadness I feel is that I was not home the day that someone came through my basement window. they would have gone out differently

RON
There are no excuses for his actions. The problem today is when people look to offset the blame and not hold anyone accountable, such as he got caught up with the wrong kids. As a victim of his actions I’m sure he has no idea or even cares of the pain and heart break his actions have caused us and other victims and I hope he gets prosecuted to the fullest extent. Maybe when people are held accountable for their selfish actions they will think twice about causing so many people hardship

I was hit on October 24th, they stole items that I had saved that belonged to my 17 year old daughter who passed on January 19, 2010. The items have already been scrapped and I will never be able to replace them, I wish that they could know the hurt they cause to the families they steal from. It is not the money it is the sentimental attachment to the items that are gone forever.

Yea the help that he needs..your lucky in this economy you have a job..Im sorry for you it has to be two jobs but this is a kid that served 4 years in the marines at the age of 18 and couldn't find a job when he got out. He finally did find something after 2 years but it was too late he was too far gone. Believe me i'm not making excuses for him or anyone that commits a crime. He turned himself in at the police station and fessed up to everything. But he went into depression and hooked on drugs. Hey look I was robbed too when I wasn't home more then once as a matter of fact so I know what that feels like..I felt like my whole family was violated..Ive always been taught to never condemn anyones kids especially cuz someday that may be a situation you end up in. I despise when people say where were the parents. Umm probably working just like you and I for a living trying to survive in this economy. Again not making up excuses at all for this kid he needs to do the time, but look what some not all people may have to resort to surviving. This is a typical middle class family..Even the Martel kid give me a break nice rich family but hey people screw up and if you or your kids havent then your one of the lucky brady bunch families i guess.

I watched the most beautiful 17 year old girl fight losing battle to cancer she touched everyone’s heart in Tewksbury that crossed her path and never complained once. Her mother who is the strongest and most caring person anyone could meet was left with just memories of her baby; she had some saved jewelry from the time Meg was born till her passing that was one of the few material things that her Mom cherished. Then this kid breaks in our house and steals this jewelry from her then scrap the gold like it was worthless recycling. So if you feel this kid needs a hug because he didn’t get enough dessert growing up or had a little trouble getting a job. Open your eyes he’s a punk

No disrespect to the mccarthy family at all meg was a great kid..you dont think i had jewlery stolen from my wife who had her last memories of her grandmother just melted down to nothing. So dont go down that road the mccarthys arent the only ones who lost loved ones and had all their memories of those loved ones jewlery stolen. all im saying for all involved is that its a horrible situation all around. you dont think the haffey family is suffering? they had no hand in this other then doing the best they can to raise their son. grow up with the comments as far as not getting enough dessert as i said before, Im sure you have no problems or issues in your family glad your family was raised like the brady bunch or maybe leave it to beaver. my heart goes out to megs mother ive known her for years but unlike my wife grandmother megs memory still and always will live on in tewksbury and no one will ever forget her.

If I knew him personally I may have understanding and feel sorry too, but I couldn't give myself the right to relieve the wrong he committed nor minimize the significance of the anger over his violations.

If, in fact, this particular string of robberies (isnt it sad that we have to figure out WHICH string of robberies is which?) includes the McCarthy home, then there are more layers of tragedy to this story than we can imagine. Need to confirm some stuff but the back story here may be tied to another story we just published.

hey Steevo, as i mentioned before, I am not relieved over the wrong he committed and i am angry and he will do time and should just like anyone else who committs a crime, but I guess i have alot of forgiveness in my heart because this kid has never gotten into trouble his whole life other then now since he got out of the marines so something snapped. again to all of you i am not making excuses for anyone but anyone can be turned around if they want to be and its obvious that anyone who turns himself into the police is looking for help..yes the cops have been looking for him all around, but he walked into the station himself and admitted to everything that has to tell you a little something about his character. he will do the time and he should but im sure you wouldnt kick your kid to the curb if this happened to anyone of you and if you say yes you boy then the pennochio inside you is going to come out.

Bill which story

Oh i do..I am one of his/their victims as well. so I do empathize towards others so please don't get me wrong thats why i say it just stinks all around for all families involved the innocent victims as well as the haffey family. they looked up to him as a hero who served our country and he comes home and nothing but tragedy for them and the victims.

How come nobody ever has the bad kid? It's always these other "bad kids" they get involved with, but it's never themselves.

Here again, drugs are the root of all evil. The town ought to try working on keeping the drugs out of this town. Maybe more people should turn in the dealers or suspected dealers to the Police Department. This action should be anounimous for the person who blows the whistle on those who supply to our kids. The reason for the crime is that the kids do not have the money to pay for their habit. This is so sad!

Marc enough with the brady bunch and leave it to beaver references, it just makes you sound like a sarcastic jerk.
Think about what you said, he came home from the service and couldnt find a job. Well dont you think re entry to the marines would be a better job than B&E. what a waste, a skilled and trained military man sitting in jail

omg did i say he didnt turn into bad kid? did I say he shouldn't be punished for his crime no i did not. once again its a horrible situation all around for all the families involved.

oh and the comment about spoon feeding the dessert wasn't sarcastic? I'm sure we have all had skeletons in our closets whether it be a family member, friend etc. none of us are perfect but its how you come out of it is what counts. Bill he tried to reenlist but they wanted the newbies. everyone in his outfit was turned away from reenlisting. His other two friends that just got discharged were not able to reenlist either. one wanted to make a career out if it and they turned them down..who does that. you would think that the gov would want the trained personnel right? shame on our gov for turning away the men and women who are or have fought for this country, but dont get me started on my views of the military within our gov please i dont want my personal issues about the marines army etc coming out on this..

Mary your are right on point... you will do anything for feed your habit..I dont care if its drugs, alcohol etc. wen you need a fix you need a fix and you will rob your own mother to get it.

Bill if this is what your talking about then all i have to say is i cant believe that lowell district court let him go. They should have kept him and sent him to a facility to detox out if thats what he needs. as far as im concerned, the courts are just enabling him now.

Marc I have to say that if he tried to re up and was turned down then I agree that there is a problem. Why would they not want trained people All I know is that my house is no brady bunch and I just have no tolerance for someone to come in and take things from me.

oh i agree bill im really pissed and want to punch him to get my frustrations out believe you me..things were taken from us as well that we can never get back gone for good. but yea there a few that were in his platoon or whatever you called it in the same situation of not being able to reenlist makes no sense right..but like i said dont get me started with the gov. my own personal

As is so often the case, my sharp readers beat me to the punch. The information I was trying to confirm was that yes, this young man is a veteran. I've got a pretty good source telling me that drugs indeed have played a role in this case and that the drug in question was originally prescribed legally for a medical condition. There is a bit of contradictory information as to whether or not the medical condition was the result of his service in the military. One way or another, this case seems to be exactly the type of situation that Maj. Stephen Flanagan was referring to in his Veterans Day speech. http://tewksbury.patch.com/articles/local-hero-asks-residents-to-help-returning-soldiers

Bill I just read the speech and that is right on target..Stephen was a stand up kid never in trouble, solid home life which is what i was trying to explain..by no means a punk in anyway. as i said i am angry i know them and i am victim as well so i do sympathize with the others. its just that this kid needs rehabilitation that he was never able to get he was overseas twice and came back depressed just like other vets..its unfortunate but thats why i said that hopefully he will get the help that he needs staighten out and be man enough in due time to confess and apologize to all the families he has hurt.

Lucky for HIM he didn't try our house!! He would have been met with a baseball bat upside his head!!
Then all the bleeding hearts could say " oooh the poor boy"

Cathy...these days he would try and SUE You for hurting him!!

Hey cathy dont get me wrong, if i was home when he did it to my house knowing him or not i would do the same thing. I am by all means not saying poor boy and i didnt read anyone else saying that either.

Thank you Cathy Save the bleeding heart stuff for kids that grew up in the heart of Oakland or South Philly not (the bad lands of Tewksbury)

people shouldnt be leaving bad comments .. i understand that most of you are mad but you dont relize who sees these comments. his family could be looking at this right now and i know they are because im related to him and proud to be. i know what he did was wrong but being in the marines for 4 years is also hard. at least he turned his self in and gave everything back. he could of just kept it all and hes not a punk. he went through alot from being in the marines for 4 years and he surved our countrie while we were going to work and satying home. he could of gotten killed and he learned a lesson and he really isnt a bad kid.

I'm sick and tired of people making excuses for criminals. The bottom line is these lowlife thieves...and they are lowlife thieves could have made the right choices in life and they didn't. people work too hard to have their homes broken into and their lives violated. I don't care if these losers had good parents. They belong in jail. The problem is we live in a society where people are not held accountable for their actions...this is especially true of the state of MA where you can kill people and be walking the streets. The sad thing is if one of these lowlifes broke into my house and I caught the barrel of my baseball bat I would be sued and the great parents who raised these poor kids that made a mistake would be standing there supporting them in court when they are suing me for defending my home and family. I also don't care about the drug problems or other BS excuses they use for robbing homes.

Casey, I do agree with you about him not being a punk. he has and i believe always will be a very respectful person. He came out of the marines screwed up and not using that as an excuse for him but just like most vets something snaps while they are there in combat and then take it home with them..I'm not saying this happens to all vets but come on lets face it it happens to most of them. Ive known 2 families who's children committed suicide after being home for one to two years because they got so depressed and couldn't find jobs. Now the people are leaving bad comments probably never experienced what he and his family has experienced for 6 years like having their 17 and 18 year old kids going overseas in battle being shot at or having bombs thrown at each other. He is one of the typical kids who went overseas with his heart and sole and came out lost and scewed up from the government in a fight we have no right being in. Again people I am not making excuses for the hurt he has brought to so many families including my own, but as i also said we all have skeletons in our closets whether it be with ourselves, families or friends. He will due time for what he has done, no doubt but I also know he will be more then willing once he is well to apologize to each family he has hurt. That is just the type of kid he is.

Joe all i have to say is I'm sorry your a parent and I feel bad for your kids.. Glad to know that you will have the best interest of your children at heart and stick by their side when they are on drugs or come home crippled from fighting overseas whether mentally or physically. His parents are not making an excuse for him, they are not defending his actions, they know that he will and should deserve to do time for what he has done, but what good parents actually do is stand their and support while their children in need. Oh and by the way just an fyi, my nephew was shot and killed in malden for walking over the lawn of a home one halloween night, with his friends trick or treating and guess what..My brother had no rights to sue for any monies. so maybe you might want to carry a hand gun it will make a bigger impact in your life to take someone elses away..good luck with your kids there man

If you don't want to be talked about in a public forum, stay out of the public eye (and the police log, and jail).

Melissa who are you referring to because no one said they don't want to be talked about. All of us are just stating our opinions

Marc, Casey apparently doesn't want any of us to state opinions. I wasn't referring to you.

ahhh sorry..missed that one..

If you do the crime, you do the time.

The bottom line here is that he needs rehab and counseling, and lots of it. I feel that only those who have been to the battle can understand the others who have been. I get it, because I was there (2003). War is an experience that will mentally alter forever the strongest of men. Those who have not been will never know what drove Mr. Haffey to this situation. He deserves, and has earned, everyones support. As Teddy Roosevelt said, "A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards."

If Mr. Haffey is indeed addicted to drugs, he doesn't need prison, he needs an in-house rehab program that lasts longer than a few weeks. I hear all of you ranting about bad kids and "bs excuses" for bad behavior, and you're right. Some kids (although at 24 I don't think we can call Mr. Haffey a kid anymore) are just punks with crappy parents, but drug addiction adds a whole different dimension to the mix no matter who the kids or what their parental situation. Whatever you think of the "bs excuse"...it's real. Addiction makes people who wouldn't ordinarily do terrible things do those terrible things. And for the people who wouldn't normally break into houses, they KNOW they're causing pain and destruction, and they do care. They just don't know how to stop themselves. It's sad all around; for the addict, for the addict's family, and for the innocent people who get caught in the crossfire when their homes are broken into.

I am in no way making excuses for criminal behavior. It happened and it needs to be dealt with accordingly. But when addiction is involved, you have to go beyond dealing with the criminal behavior and treat the addiction. It's not touchy-feely, it's not bleeding heart crap, it's the reality of the situation. Treat the addiction, and in most cases the criminal behavior goes away. There's also the added benefit of treatment being cheaper than prison, which saves everybody money. Surely the non-touchy-feely types can get behind that at least.

Kate I could not have said it better myself. thank you for getting that point across. He is doing the time now and hopefully can get into some kind of rehab with the vets. He was injured overseas and the dr prescribed the meds you can only tolerate so much pain mentally and physically for so long before something snaps..

He and members or his Marine corp platoon couldn't re enlist???? That should tell EVERYONE something. The Marine corp didnt want them representing them....???? sounds like this isnt a one off bad behavior issue...

I grew up with Steve and although we were not friends i knew what kind of person he was from our school years. He was the most mild mannered kid who was nice to all those around him and truly without any enemies. He treated everyone with respect and was a good student who never got in trouble. I have not kept in touch since we graduated high school but It shocks me to hear this news knowing that it is completely out of character. I truly hope Steve gets the help he needs to have his life return to a sense of normalcy and i praise him for holding himself accountable and turning himself in for what he knew what was wrong. To those that were affected by his actions, its incredibly unfortunate and i know many people will never be able to replace what was lost as well as having their peace of mind and security shaken up, but the greatest gift would be to forgive this troubled veteran for his actions. Addiction is a terrible thing and its sad to see our Veterans succombing to these ills and misfortunes when they return home. I would hope we would stand by our veterans and give them the much needed support they need especially in troubled times. Yes they should be held accountable for their actions but they also need a tremendous amount of support for what they have experienced while protecting and serving this great country. To Steve and his family, i hope you stay strong during these times, get the help you need, and come out a better man. I pray for your success.

Yeah he may have a drug addiction, but he still needs to be held accountable for his actions. Just because he has a drug addiction, it doesn't mean we can treat him like what he did was fine. He broke in and stole precious memories of a young girl that passed away, and then scrapped it all. And that's not okay.

David Berkowitz (a.k.a the Son of Sam) was also in the military and later a serial killer. Should we excuse his actions?

omg you people are you all morons..everyone and including his mother said he should and will be accountable for his actions.. not one person including me said he should not be..we all said just like his 2006 tmhs grad above said this is completely out of character for him..As i said before to another person..I hope to god none of your children end up with any kind of addiction to include alcohol..because it sounds to me like none of you would even be there for any type of support.. because when you are addicted, I hate to say this, you will do anything for that drink or fix. As I also mentioned..I was one of his victims, my house was hit, my gold taken and melted down..am i angry yes, I dont have a bleeding heart, its just called forgiveness because there are more important things in life then items..like your health and your families health to me that is the most important thing..I realize, meg passed away..she was friends with my daughter and im sure her mom would prefer to have meg..meg has and always will be around as long as the families of tewksbury keep her spirit alive by doing exactly what they have been doing..

Drug addicts will steal from their dying grandmothers, their own parents, their children, ANYBODY. It doesn't matter whether or not they think highly of you. What is it about "drug addict" do you not understand?

And who is saying he shouldn't be held accountable for what he's done? He absolutely should. What he did was wrong and it hurt many people, and he needs to make amends for that. But everybody screaming for justice should understand something: Without treatment for the addiction, no amount of justice is going to change the behavior. Also, this can happen in anybody's family. By all accounts (and I've heard other accounts off of this website), this was a good kid and good student, enrolled in honors classes, from a middle class family who did things "right."

As for the "bleeding heart" thing, it has been my experience that it's the conservative leaning folks who are the biggest military cheerleaders, but this isn't about politics. It's about drug addiction and the criminal behavior that is a direct result of drug addiction.

Kate well said..big koodos for you finally someone completely understands what i was saying..I couldnt have said it any better then you..

oh and just one thing im far from being a military cheerleader..no offense to anyone im dead set against the what the military stands for..and yes its not about the politics so i wont go on..i just feel the older im getting, the closer i want to keep my kids..and always think what if...so i just never judge..thats they way i was raised anyway to not judge and not hate no matter how angry..

FIRST off, I want to be clear about sounding "anti-military" if I did...I am a MASSIVE military cheerleader and I'm far far far from a conservative. All I'm saying is that I'm angry this jerk was in my home and stole my belongings that I'll never get back. I hope he gets help but I'm not going to sit here and cry about how he needs help.I would like to see you help him though, Marc. Instead of you being a rebuttle to every angry remark made against him, get off your computer and help him and his family instead of talking about it :)

That wasn't a snide remark. If you think this drug addict can be helped, you should volunteer your time and help him out.

Matt very well spoken..I just may use this when I do attend his trial if you don't mind..I hope you and your family are on the road to recovery and hope you have a very merry christmas..

Bottom Line He stole

TODAY IS ABOUT MEGAHN

The problem with our system is that these types of thieves go into jail for a short period of time and are set free to do exactly the same thing, over and over again. My neighborhood a young man that has served time in jail many times, only to come out to do drugs again and go house hopping robbing anything he can get his hands on. Let's talk about putting these kids in the service and do time doing something constructive.

There is a yard sale at their house today if you had anything stolen, it maybe up for sale.

Mary, the military no longer wants criminals and addicts.