Repeat thief charged, sentenced in new Boston break-ins
A Boston man, already serving time break-ins, was arraigned last week on new charges stemming from Chinatown breaks-ins.
James Schaff, 59, faces two new counts of breaking and entering at nighttime and one count of larceny from a building connected to two alleged incidents that happened at different restaurants in 2021.
According to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, Schaff broke into the Asian Garden on Harrison Avenue in February 2021 by throwing a cinder block through a window, then stole $8 in bills and between $100 and $200 in rolled coins from the register.
In July of the same year, Schaff allegedly broke into Irashai Sushi on Kneeland Street using a brick to break the glass front door, according to the DA, and making off with $1,100 from the register.
Investigators were able to use DNA to implicate Schaff.
Schaff already pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking and entering at nighttime tied to 2023 incidents in Beacon Hill on Friday. He was sentenced to one year in prison with six months to serve, and the rest of the sentence suspended for one year on both dockets.
The sentence will be served consecutively to a sentence he received in October (six months in prison) for similar crimes, the DA said.
“Schaff’s prior convictions make clear that he posed a threat to our merchants. Now we have additional offenses illustrating how much of a threat he really was,” Hayden said in a statement.
The DA’s office along with Boston Police and regional and local business owners launched the Safe Shopping Initiative in 2024. The aim of the program is to target high volume, repeat, and violent offenders.
“The new charges are for offenses that occurred several years ago, but we’re committed to holding offenders accountable no matter when they occur,” Hayden added.
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Schaff was held on $2,500 for each of the alleged Chinatown break-ins and was ordered to stay away from the incident locations.
He will appear back in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 6.
