Judge rules thief keeps lottery jackpot
Posted: 1/18/2008 7:24:50 PM
The Massachusetts bank robber accused of violating his probation by scratching and winning a $1 million lottery ticket will keep his windfall and will not face jail time as a result of a court hearing this morning in Barnstable.
Appearing in Barnstable Superior Court, Timothy Elliott, 55, was found in violation of his probation for buying the "$800 Million Spectacular" scratch ticket at the Hyannis Stop & Shop on Independence Drive on Nov. 23.
He was today ordered to pay $65 a month to monitor his compliance with terms of his probation, which is also retroactive to when he won the lottery money late last year. There are also terms and compliance conditions in place for Elliott from the state Department of Mental Health.
Elliott robbed two Hyannis banks in the past seven years. He was originally put on probation after pleading guilty in 2001 to armed robbery and larceny. He violated that probation by failing to take prescribed medication and attend substance abuse counseling, among other problems, and was ordered into the care of Taunton State Hospital, a psychiatric institution.
He violated probation again by committing another unarmed robbery in January 2006 and received a revised five-year probation. He now stands accused of violating probation again by buying his winning lottery ticket, according to court records.
Stories about Elliott's lottery winnings and his criminal background appeared in publications around the country. Questions were raised whether Elliott would be allowed to keep his lottery winnings.
"Truth be told, this was more of a media circus," said Elliott's attorney Drew Segadelli this morning, adding that Elliott is now living in Pocasset. The implication in those stories that Elliott would not collect his winnings was absurd, Segadelli said.
Still pending against Elliott is a contempt of court filing in a Nantucket child support case. Elliott owes $37,900 in unpaid alimony and child support from a 1979 divorce judgment, according to court documents.
In a document filed Dec. 5 in Nantucket Probate and Family Court, Elliott's former wife claims he never paid the court ordered support payments of $75 per week.
Source: Cape Cod Times
