BOSTON, October 2, 2017— A woman was sentenced to prison last week for a series of thefts from school and hospital employees that began just weeks after she was released from prison for similar offenses, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

During an appearance Friday in Suffolk Superior Court, LEILANI CHAMBERS-RAY (D.O.B. 3/3/73), formerly of Cambridge and most recently of Roxbury, pleaded guilty to 33 charges related to a string of thefts from 12 victims that spanned nearly seven months.  She admitted to eight counts of credit card over $250, 13 counts of credit card fraud under $250, five counts of larceny over $250, and seven counts of larceny under $250.

Judge William Sullivan sentenced Chambers-Ray to four to five years in state prison followed by three years of probation, during which time she must stay away from Massachusetts General Hospital and all schools, pay restitution, and undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations and treatment. 

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney George Barker of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Chambers-Ray bypassed security procedures at Massachusetts General Hospital and three Boston area schools between June 2016 and January 2017 in order to steal purses, wallets, and other items stored in employees-only areas.   Less than two weeks before the thefts began, Chambers-Ray was released from a four-year prison term and was on probation for Essex Superior Court convictions for the 2013 theft and unauthorized use of credit cards stolen from employees of a Lynn elementary school.

An investigation by Boston Police, Somerville Police, Massachusetts General Hospital Police, and Suffolk prosecutors revealed that Chambers-Ray was responsible for thefts from victims at Massachusetts General Hospital on June 22, 2016; July 7, 2016; July 18, 2016 and on Dec. 19.  She also bypassed security to enter elementary schools in Somerville on Oct. 18, in Roxbury on Nov. 16, and in Dorchester on Jan. 10.  Prosecutors said Chambers-Ray stole personal belongings of 12 hospital and school employees, including credit cards that she used to make purchases at an MBTA station, a liquor store, and various retailers.  The evidence would have proved that Chambers-Ray made more than 60 unauthorized purchases on the victims’ credit cards totaling $5,952.43 and stole additional items from the victims, including a commuter rail pass, house keys, cash, and gift cards.

A security camera at the Somerville school captured Chambers-Ray waving to a visitor entering the school and then following them into the school’s entrance, which would otherwise have been locked.  During an interview with Boston Police, Chambers-Ray made statements indicating that she had used this method of piggybacking school visitors in prior offenses, prosecutors said.  Security camera footage from Massachusetts General Hospital captured Chambers-Ray wearing a lanyard as she walked through the hospital during one incident, and footage on another date depicted her waving to and interacting with hospital staff while holding a pair of gray gloves matching those reported stolen by an employee that same day.

Chambers-Ray was represented by Andrew Stockwell-Alpert.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.