LAWRENCE — To some extent, James Caron's purchase of a pricey stolen Bobcat almost eight years ago played a part in the firing of Methuen police Chief Joseph Solomon last year.

Now as Solomon waits to hear whether he'll win his job back, Caron got a break yesterday.

Solomon's former brother-in-law received 18 months of probation, 100 hours of community service and some fees in Lawrence District Court. Judge Barbara Pearson continued Caron's case without a finding, meaning there is no guilty mark entered on his record.

Caron, 42, of 298 Renfrew St., Methuen, faced two counts of receiving stolen property over $250. He admitted to sufficient facts and the case did not go to trial.

"He's suffered a great deal from publicity over a stolen Bobcat. ... (Being) involved with the firing of the Methuen police chief," Caron's attorney, Joseph Fitzgibbons, told the judge. "His life has been turned upside down."

Caron bought a stolen lawn tractor and a Bobcat — worth more than $30,000 — from family friend Robert Fregeau for less than $10,000 in cash in August 2001.

Fitzgibbons claims that Caron did not know the property was stolen. He allegedly thought it was so cheap because Fregeau got an employee discount from the John Deere dealer he works at in Kensington, N.H.

Fitzgibbons said Caron, who has a 10th-grade education, is not someone who would pick up on the sketchiness of the situation.

"This is a man who has very much difficulty reading and writing," Fitzgibbons said.

But Fregeau, who is now in jail for the robberies, told police that Caron cut a deal to have him steal the equipment and was ready to testify yesterday if the case went to trial. Fregeau said he did it because he was desperate, addicted to cocaine, and scared his house was being foreclosed on.

"There was no documentation, no bill of sale, no warranty. It was a back-door deal," said prosecutor Andrew Zeiberg. "Everyone knew what was going on. ... This deserves a guilty."

Police became aware of the stolen Bobcat after Caron sold it to another Methuen man in 2005, who fatefully took the machine to the same dealership it was stolen from to have routine maintenance done in April 2006.

When the dealership ran the identification numbers on the machinery, it came back as stolen from the business and police were called.

When Caron was contacted by Methuen police about the stolen Bobcat, he asked them to check the number on his lawn tractor to see if that was stolen, too. It was.

Police later seized the tractor and Caron was arrested by Methuen police in September 2008.

The case was thrust into the spotlight when Mayor William Manzi fired Solomon in May 2008 and the Police Department's handling of Caron's case was cited in reports.

The investigating officer, Sgt. Larry Phillips, maintains he was disciplined by Solomon, in part, for reporting the case to FBI agents after being told by Lt. Michael Wnek in July 2006 not to charge Caron.

In his report he filed in court, Phillips wrote, "I was informed by Lt. Wnek that Chief Solomon was upset that we had dragged our feet on this investigation and they wanted Fregeau charged in connection with this case, however we were specifically instructed not to charge James Caron."

He went on to write: "I advised Lt. Wnek it was my opinion that there was no way that Caron could not have known the property he purchased was stolen ... (Wnek) indicated the order was conveyed by the chief to charge Fregeau and not Caron."

On Aug. 24, 2007, Caron received a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury.

On that night, Phillips remembers Solomon throwing a tirade at the police station because officers were watching a preseason football game. Phillips said he was put on leave the next day and his gun, badge and ID were taken away.

He testified that he believed he was placed on administrative leave by Solomon to keep from speaking before the grand jury.

Solomon has testified he was told of the Caron investigation, but never intervened. He said he found out his former brother-in-law was called to testify after Phillips was placed on leave.

A hearing officer, however, later concluded that Solomon's behavior toward Phillips "directly relates to the grand jury investigation in which Phillips was involved."

Solomon has been fighting to get his job back. His civil service hearing ended in April. There has been no decision as of yet.

In court yesterday Fitzgibbons touted Caron's clean record, and emphasized the trouble the case has caused him just because of a thin connection to a police chief who left under a cloud of scandal.

Caron's wife, Gina, is the sister of Solomon's ex-wife.

While the FBI was looking into Caron and the stolen Bobcat, there was never an indictment, Fitzgibbons said.

The attorney said the FBI was at one time using Fregeau to try and record a confession from Caron, one that never came.

"(They) told him to call Mr. Caron, try to get him to admit the goods were stolen," Fitzgibbons said.

Caron has already paid $6,000 to the man he sold the Bobcat to back in 2005.

Officers from the Methuen Police Department lined the front row of the courtroom yesterday as Caron's case was wrapped up.

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