Robbery from family alleged; $100K taken from house.

Byline: Gary V. Murray

WORCESTER - After stealing more than $100,000 from his 78-year-old grandmother last year, admitted crack cocaine user Ryan Day of Millbury lavished tips of up to $400 on employees at a local hotel and left a bag containing an estimated $16,000 in cash behind in his room when he checked out, police allege.

Mr. Day, 27, of 18 Wheelock Ave., Millbury, is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 7 in Worcester Superior Court on larceny and breaking and entering charges in what investigators said was the theft of at least $100,000 last May from the Millbury home of his paternal grandmother, Mary Day, who has since died. Mr. Day has pleaded not guilty and is free on $100,000 cash bail posted by his father, Philip Day Jr.

Mr. Day's grandmother distrusted banks and kept her life savings, which she estimated at about $500,000, in coffee jars, coleslaw containers and gym bags in her home on Rindge Street in Millbury, according to court documents. Her grandson, who had rented a home from her for $500 a month, allegedly entered her residence on two occasions while she was seriously ill and staying with her daughter and made off with money, including rare gold coins that she had been saving for more than 50 years.

Mr. Day, known to police as a crack user, became an immediate "person of interest" when the theft was discovered and reported on June 10, 2006, according to an affidavit filed in court by Millbury Detective Nicole Oliveri in support of a search warrant for the suspect's home and car.

His mother, Dianna, who was aware of Mr. Day's addiction to crack cocaine and had not seen or heard from him in weeks, found glass coffee jars identical to those that were taken in the thefts in her son's house, the detective wrote.

Investigators learned that Mr. Day had been flashing a lot of money and had been seen by an Auburn police officer with $15,000 in cash and gold coins, according to the affidavit. Police were also told that Mr. Day was believed to have been staying at a hotel in Worcester.

On June 9, 2006, they obtained a search warrant for Room 421 at the Best Western hotel on Oriol Drive after discovering that Mr. Day had been a guest there for the previous three weeks. The suspect wasn't present when police searched the room, and no property was seized. Police were told that Mr. Day usually booked three rooms at a time during his stay at the hotel and gave out tips that ranged from a $1 gold coin to $100 in cash.

Three days later, still hot on Mr. Day's trail, Detective Oliveri and Trooper Nick Nason went to the Marriott Residence Inn on Plantation Street and discovered that Mr. Day had stayed there from May 26 to June 2. While a guest at the Marriott, Mr. Day gave hotel workers tips of up to $400 and secured an estimated $120,000, money he said he won at the casino, in the hotel safe, police were told.

The next guest to check into his room after Mr. Day checked out on June 2, 2006, found a bag of U.S. currency in the bed, a hotel official related to police. The money, estimated at $16,000, was turned over to Worcester police, according to the affidavit.

The detective and trooper caught up with Mr. Day on June 13, 2006, on Dix Street and arrested him on a warrant. After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mr. Day allegedly admitted going into his grandmother's house and taking money, some of which, he said, was later stolen from him.

About $69,000 was recovered by investigators, according to court records.

Mr. Day's lawyer, Michael C. O'Doherty, filed a motion seeking to suppress his client's statements to police. Mr. O'Doherty maintained that Mr. Day's statements were not voluntary because he was sleep-deprived and under the influence of crack cocaine when he made them. In an affidavit accompanying the motion, Mr. Day said he was on drugs and hadn't slept for days when he talked to investigators. He also maintained that he invoked his right to remain silent before being questioned.

Judge Francis R. Fecteau denied the motion last month, finding that Mr. Day waived his rights and spoke voluntarily with police.

Judge Kathe M. Tuttman set the Sept. 7 trial date in Mr. Day's case Wednesday at the request of Mr. O'Doherty and Assistant District Attorney Eduardo O. Velazquez.