LYNN — Emajae Brown, a 25-year-old from Lynn, has been arraigned for nine charges related to the break-in at the Beverly Mansion last month.
An arrest warrant was granted out of Salem District Court on Tuesday, according to Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Beverly Chief of Police John G. LeLacheur. Brown is being held without bail and is currently facing nine charges, including home invasion, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over age 60, kidnapping, intimidation of a witness, armed assault in a dwelling, larceny over $1,200, breaking and entering in a building in the nighttime, larceny of a motor vehicle, and armed burglary.
Per the Boston Globe, the prosecution stated that police found $300,000 cash and various “gold items” that were stolen from the home in his car.
“The MSP [Massachusetts State Police] detectives assigned to my office, the FBI, Beverly Police Department, and the Lynn Police Department worked on this case with focus, integrity, and determination, and I know the agencies involved will continue to do so as this investigation continues,” District Attorney Paul Tucker told The Daily Item.
At around 8:30 a.m. on March 28, Beverly Police received a 911 call for a reported breaking and entering, possible assault with a firearm, and larceny of a motor vehicle and several other items. Essex Assistant District Attorney Patrick Collins stated in the arraignment that two “masked thieves” had broken into the home and held the caretaker, who was the only one home, at gunpoint while they forced her to give them valuable possessions. She was then “pistol-whipped,” tied up, and then left in the garage while they tossed her phone into the ocean.
According to prosecutors, a large amount of cash, gold, silver, and high-value watches, as well as a navy blue Porsche Cayenne, were stolen from the home. Collins said that local and state police were able to find the car via Flock cameras, which revealed that it had been left in Lynn at a cemetery.
The owner of the home, Thomas J. Swan III, had told Newscenter 5 previously that the robbers “knew what they were after; they were looking for what they stole were some very specific and valuable things.” In court, Collins revealed that “it was later told to the investigators” that Brown’s ex-girlfriend was another housekeeper who worked at the home.
Police then discovered in surveillance footage taken from the Encore Boston Harbor casino that Brown was arguing with her while wearing the same sandals that matched the ones Brown had been wearing on video.
Authorities were also able to track Brown through his phone, which they obtained through a search warrant. Surveillance video showed him going to a jewelry dealer in New York City, where an “exchange was made,” the prosecutor said. They did not disclose information on the second suspect.
Brown is scheduled to return to court on April 21 for a dangerousness hearing.
