A former Dedham, Massachusetts, police officer who was convicted of playing a role in the 2014 kidnapping and murder of an Avon man, began his prison sentence on Thursday, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.
Former Dedham Police Officer Michael Schoener, 49, entered prison following a lengthy appeal and delay.
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“Schoener’s conviction for accessory before the fact was in April of 2019, but his sentence was stayed – over the Commonwealth’s objection – while his appeals were pending,” District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said Thursday in a news release. “The appeals process was essentially exhausted when the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the conviction April 18, 2023.”
A judge sentenced him to six to nine years in state prison.
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Schoener was found guilty in 2019 of accessory before the fact to the kidnapping of 37-year-old James Robertson of Avon, who was kidnapped from his home in 2014 and found murdered in the woods in Upton about two years later.
In 2018, James Feeney, of Dedham, was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy in Robertson's death, while Scott Morrison, of Norfolk, was convicted of manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy.
Authorities say Feeney and Morrison, pretending to be police officers, went to Robertson's home, flashed badges and told him they needed to escort him to a drug probation test. Robertson's remains were found in a wooded area of Upton nearly two years later when a hunter reported finding what he believed to be a human skull.
Robertson is said to have had struggled with drugs and alcohol and had been arrested for breaking and entering.
Prosecutors said Schoener gave his badge, holster and handcuffs to Feeney, the man believed to have masterminded the kidnapping.
“ADA Beland, assisted by ADA Pamela Alford, successfully prosecuted a complex and difficult case, also securing kidnapping and homicide convictions against James Feeney and Scott Morrison,” District Attorney Morrissey said. “This was a case that caused incredible hardship and pain for James Robertson’s parents, both of whom have since passed away. While I am relieved for the surviving family, I would have wished his parents to see the justice executed today.”
