...The town’s post-Christmas peace was shattered by ex-con Dominic Cinelli, 57, of Woburn, and his plan to use the blizzard’s cover to knock over the department store. His scheme ended in the exchange of gunfire, which left him dying on the snow-swept, diamond-strewn pavement.
His two accused accomplices were in on the “well-planned and well-choreographed” gem heist, said prosecutor Marian Ryan. Scott Hanwright, 19, of Wakefield, “the lookout,” waited outside the store as Cinelli went inside just after 8:40 p.m., armed, masked and striking customers and employees, Ryan said. She said Cinelli knew to strike just before closing as the jewelry employees were moving diamonds to a safe for the night.
Hanwright, who has no criminal record, pleaded not guilty yesterday to first-degree murder and armed robbery, and is being held without bail. Kevin Dingwell, 51, of Wakefield, who Ryan said was supposed to be the getaway driver, is charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder. He was held on $1,000 cash bail.
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Dominic Cinelli’s parole records show a checkered past: a rehabilitated junkie who started shooting heroin at 14, he was a career criminal who at one point was serving three concurrent life sentences for several armed robberies, armed assault with intent to commit murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
But an appeals court decision made him eligible for parole and he walked in February 2009. The Parole Board at that time noted: “Cinelli’s release to community supervision at this time is not incompatible with the welfare of society.”.....