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CANTON A Canton judge dismissed an indictment against a Norfolk man accused of stealing $300 from the Super 8 Motel in Massena in April 2011.
Matthew J. McGrath, 27, of 6 N. Main St., was indicted in February on a third-degree burglary charge.
In his five-page order dated April 10, St. Lawrence County Judge Jerome J. Richards dismissed the indictment because much of the testimony by Mr. McGraths accomplice, Chad Wickwire, was not properly corroborated before the grand jury.
Mr. Wickwire was working for Super 8 the night of the theft and did not report the money missing at the end of his shift. It was a scheme the two had put together weeks before the theft, according to court documents.
Video surveillance from the motel helped police to identify Mr. McGrath as their suspect, documents said.
In the presentation to the grand jury, prosecutors allowed a police officer to read a signed statement by an acquaintance, Billy Goodreau, that pointed to Mr. McGrath as the guilty party.
According to the documents, Mr. McGrath told Mr. Goodreau he had just stolen from the motel.
Judge Richards wrote that Mr. Goodreau must give this information to the grand jury in live testimony and not through a police officer.
Prosecutors may present the case to a different grand jury.