Suspended Mass. state trooper pleads not guilty to stealing golf balls from Target stores

Posted by author February 13, 2025 Golf

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A state trooper charged with shoplifting more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from Target including golf balls was ordered to stay away from the retailer at his arraignment Thursday in Central District Court.

Zachariah F. Kent, 30, of Sutton, was released on personal recognizance following his arraignment on charges of larceny under $1,200 by a single scheme and three counts of shoplifting.

Kent declined to comment outside the courtroom. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.

The second-year trooper was suspended without pay, state police confirmed in December, and is the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

Kent was criminally charged after police said he was caught on video stealing more than a dozen times from Target stores in Millbury, Worcester, Westborough and Milford in 2024.

Kent, who earned $119,000 in 2024 prior to his suspension, allegedly used the “skip scan” method — where a person pays for some items at self-checkout, while failing to pay for others — for months undetected.

The trooper, who had no previous disciplinary history with state police, was caught red-handed by Target loss-prevention employees around 10 a.m. Sept. 24 in Millbury, police wrote in court documents.

Loss prevention told police that Kent was suspected of shoplifting from Target about two dozen times in multiple towns including 11 prior times in Millbury.

The Millbury report doesn’t specify the items stolen. However, Worcester police reported Kent stole exclusively golf balls from the Target at 529 Lincoln St. during three visits between April and June.

Kent was also arraigned in December in Westborough District Court on shoplifting charges tied to allegations he stole from the Target on 330 Turnpike Road (Route 9) in Westborough.

In five separate incidents over seven months at the Westborough Target, Kent allegedly walked through self-checkout and did not scan certain items, mainly golf balls, totaling $236.43, police there said.

Kent was released on personal recognizance following arraignment in Westborough, and, like Thursday, ordered to stay away from all Target stores.

In all, Kent is suspected of more than 22 shoplifting incidents from Target stores in Millbury, Worcester, Westborough and Milford.

State police, in a statement to the Telegram & Gazette in December, said they do not tolerate theft or dishonesty.

“When these troubling allegations came to our attention, the Department immediately relieved the accused trooper of duty, opened an internal affairs investigation, and suspended him without pay following his duty status hearing.

“We remain fully committed to cooperating with investigators as we await the result of the criminal process,” they wrote.

A member of the state police was present with a folder in the courtroom gallery Thursday morning.

A spokesperson for the state police said Thursday that Kent’s status with the department has not changed and noted that it generally waits until a criminal case resolves before closing internal affairs inquiries.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. appointed a special prosecutor, Sean C. Murray, to handle the case.

Murray is a former prosecutor with the Worcester DA’s office who now works in private defense.

A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said the special prosecutor was appointed to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, without elaborating.

Kent is due back in Central District Court March 25 for a pretrial hearing.