Quincy neighbor: Nun’s robbers should do time
The 27-year-old nun-in-training who was robbed at knifepoint steps from her Quincy convent may want mercy for the two women accused of stealing her rosary beads, but neighbors say the defendants should serve jail time for preying on someone so innocent.
“For this to happen is really an outrage. I’m almost speechless,” said Donna Potter, 39, who lives a few doors away from the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth on Phipps Street. “These nuns don’t bother anyone. They have festivals for the kids, they walk by you and say hi. That poor lady. ... No one should have the feeling they can’t go for a walk in their own neighborhood because they don’t feel safe. ... There’s no reason the women who did this should get off. What happens when the next person really gets hurt?”
The nun, in street clothes, was robbed at knifepoint around noon Sunday at Phipps and Water streets, but resisted handing over her purse, which contained a set of olive-wood rosary beads, a gift from her Mother Superior from Nazareth, but nothing else of value.
“I guess I’ll have to take the rosary beads,” the woman told the nun, according to police, who caught her and an alleged accomplice shortly after.
Vanessa Young, 26, of Somerville pleaded not guilty Monday in Quincy District Court to armed robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon. She also pleaded not guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property worth more than $250 because she was found with some cellphones that had been reported stolen during a break-in on Water Street, according to court records. She was held on $5,000 bail, while her co-defendant, Crystal Young, also 26, of Somerville, pleaded not guilty to one count of armed robbery and was released on her own recognizance.
The head of the convent, Mother Olga Yaqob, said the victim only wants the women to get the help they need.
Yesterday, Quincy police Capt. John Dougan said detectives are trying to find the missing rosary beads and would like nothing more than to return them to their rightful owner.
“I’m sure the rosary beads mean a lot” to her, Dougan said.
As for the pair of suspects who are accused of stealing the beads, Dougan said: “Hopefully, these two young individuals will get the help they need. God works in mysterious ways.”