Lockport man imprisoned for equipment theft

LOCKPORT – Michael D. Maacks, 26, of Dysinger Road, Lockport, was sentenced Tuesday to two to four years in state prison for his role in the theft of $10,000 worth of equipment from a Lockport business.

Maacks pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property for the April 16, 2012, theft at Custom Crews on Old Niagara Road. Maacks and Shane R. Pearce, 24, of Walnut Street, Lockport, cut a hole in the fence, removed the equipment and various pieces of metal and sold it for scrap.

Pearce pleaded guilty last October and was assigned to a court-supervised drug treatment program. However, Maacks never failed a drug test when he was on parole for a previous stolen property conviction and was told at a counseling center that he didn’t need drug treatment, Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III said.

Maacks will have to pay half of the $10,000 restitution tab after he serves his prison time, Murphy ordered. Defense attorney Michael D’Amico said the Erie County District Attorney’s Office told him burglary charges against Maacks in Amherst will be dropped as the result of his Niagara County plea.