Freetown highway surveyor found not guilty in case of selling town-owned Humvees

FREETOWN — Longtime Freetown highway surveyor Charles “Chuck” Macomber said he knew he was innocent of allegations that he stole town property, charges that have been hanging over his head for the past 2 ½ years.

Last week, a Fall River District Court judge during a two-day bench trial declared the 57-year-old Freetown highway surveyor not guilty of allegations that he illegally sold two police department-owned Humvees.

“This has been very difficult on myself and my family. This is a small town where people know everyone. Accusations like that cut right to the bone. Why it happened? I don’t know, I have my beliefs. But I don’t honestly know,” said Macomber.

In July 2019, Macomber was charged by Freetown police for selling the two military-style vehicles for cash and charged with two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny over $1,200 and embezzlement by a public officer.

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At the time charges were filed, Freetown police accused Macomber of selling the town-owned military Humvee vehicles to a local man in return for cash. Police also alleged that Macomber offered to sell two additional town-owned vehicles to the same buyer.

"The young men got caught and rather than saying yes, they stole them, they said 'the highway guy sold it to us," said Macomber. "That's basically the cleanest way I can describe what happened."

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He said he doesn't know what happened to the accusers.

Macomber, who has worked for the town for 33 years, said that during the trial the assistant district attorney prosecuting the charges against him attempted to drop the case, but that he refused and requested the judge make a decision, which he did, and found him not guilty on all charges.

“Luckily I had the truth on my side, so I never feared what the outcome would be,” said Macomber. “But it was a ton of anxiety, obviously, associated with it.”

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The Bristol County District Attorney's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Macomber’s elected position as highway surveyor puts him in charge of managing public works including streets and highways, parks and cemeteries, a job he’s held since 2005.

When he was charged, the Board of Selectmen, at that time, obtained a no trespassing order against Macomber, barring him from stepping onto the public works barn located on Chase Road in East Freetown.

Macomber was delegated to work out of town hall until the new Board of Selectmen came into office and lifted the no trespassing order last April after the town-wide election.

The conditions were not optimum for the town surveyor. “It never made sense. I was delegated to just doing paperwork in town hall. I never missed a beat, I never missed a day, but it was like fighting Mike Tyson in handcuffs,” said Macomber.

Taken by surprise back in July 2019 when he received a subpoena that indicated he was being charged with the alleged thefts, Macomber said he had no idea at the time that he was even a suspect in the case of the stolen Humvees.

Macomber said the vehicles were stored in the public works yard, which has no fencing or security cameras, and he wasn’t sure when anyone noticed the Humvees missing.

Despite the criminal case against him, Macomber said he has had much support from Freetown residents in the past 2 ½ years as he awaited trial.

“It’s a small town and news travel fast. Luckily, I have a lot of good friends in town, and I’ve had a lot of support from the townspeople. Most stood behind me and I got through this with the help of the townspeople,” said Macomber.

Last April, Macomber ran unopposed as Freetown highway surveyor and won by more than a 75 percent margin.

“I think a lot of people could smell that something wasn’t right,” said Macomber.

Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today!

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Freetown highway surveyor found not guilty of selling town vehicles