Athol woman charged after allegedly stealing $300 in laundry from man at laundromat, giving him the runaround, then avoiding police

Athol — At 12:03 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2025, a man reported a larceny to the Athol Police Department, according to Officer Craig Deveneau.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts of Officer Deveneau and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“[The reporting party] stated he brought his laundry to Pioneer [Laundry & Dry] Cleaners on Exchange Street the previous evening,” Officer Deveneau said.

Officer Deveneau said the reporting party stated he did not return in time before the laundromat closed to retrieve his laundry, and when he went back the next day, he found it missing.

“[The reporting party] stated he spoke to the business owner who was able to show him video of the people that had taken his laundry,” Officer Deveneau said. “[The reporting party] did not recognize them.”

Upon receiving the information, Officer Craig Deveneau contacted the business owner, who confirmed there was surveillance footage of the larceny and said he would send it to the officer as soon as possible.

At approximately 3:48 p.m., a laundromat employee emailed Officer Deveneau the surveillance video of the male and female who had taken the laundry as well as an image of the vehicle they were driving—a four-door Dodge Ram pickup truck with front-end damage and an emblem or aftermarket attachment on the driver’s side door.

“There weren’t any images of the license plate to determine the owner,” Officer Deveneau said.

Officer Deveneau said he shared the video with both the Orange Police Department and fellow Athol officers in an effort to identify the individuals involved.

A few days later, Officer Donald Hager of the Orange Police Department contacted Officer Deveneau and advised him that he recognized the vehicle.

Officer Hager provided Officer Deveneau with the vehicle’s registration—Massachusetts plate [number redacted]—which is registered to Ben Priestly Jr.

Using this information, Officer Deveneau found a phone number in the police department database, as Priestly Jr. had recently been arrested by Athol Police in an unrelated incident.

Officer Deveneau attempted to contact Mr. Priestly Jr. but was unsuccessful, and Priestly Jr. never returned his call.

After reviewing the video, Officer Zack Duguay informed Officer Deveneau that he recognized the vehicle and believed it was frequently seen at or associated with 105 South Street. Using this information, Officer Deveneau identified the residents of that address and, through further research, determined that the individuals seen taking the laundry in the surveillance video were Ben Priestly Sr., Ben Priestly Jr., and Lori Lanagan.

According to police, Lori A. Lanagan, 48, is a resident of South Street in Athol, MA.

On January 23, 2025, Officer Deveneau went to 105 South Street to speak with the individuals involved. Upon arrival, he was met outside by Ben Priestly Jr., who, after being informed of the purpose of the visit, directed Officer Deveneau to Lori Lanagan, stating she handled the laundry.

When Officer Deveneau spoke with Lanagan, she denied intentionally taking the reporting party’s laundry. She stated that all the laundry was inside the residence, mixed with other clothing, and she was unsure whether everything was still there, explaining that they “just wear whatever.” Lanagan added that she was in the process of moving and was willing to have the reporting party contact her directly to resolve the matter.

Officer Deveneau stated that he gave Lanagan the benefit of the doubt and contacted the reporting party to ask if he was willing to resolve the laundry issue directly, as Lanagan had offered to allow him to come to her residence to sort through the laundry and retrieve his belongings.

“[The reporting party] was agreeable to this and he was provided with Ms. Lanagan’s phone number,” Officer Deveneau said.

Officer Deveneau told the reporting party to contact him again if things didn’t work out.

On February 15, 2025, Officer Deveneau said that reporting party came to the Athol Police Station to speak with him about his laundry.

“[The reporting party] stated he was in contact with Ms. Lanagan and she basically gave him the runaround and he still doesn’t have his laundry back and Ms. Lanagan isn’t returning his calls,” Officer Deveneau said.

Officer Deveneau told the reporting party that he would try and contact Lanagan to resolve the matter.

Officer Deveneau attempted to contact Ms. Lanagan multiple times, but she did not answer, and her voicemail box had not been set up. Aware that most cell phones display the caller’s identity, Officer Deveneau suspected that Lanagan was intentionally avoiding his calls.

As of March 31, 2025, Officer Deveneau had not heard from Lanagan, who has since moved. Since her current whereabouts are unknown, Officer Deveneau applied for a warrant for her arrest.

“Ms. Lanagan did in fact take, receive, possess, and deprive [the reporting party] of his property that he estimates to be valued in excess of $300 dollars,” Officer Deveneau said.

Lanagan was charged with:

• Larceny over $250
• Receive Stolen Property ~$1,200
• Larceny from Building

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from January, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

To learn more about News Link Live’s unique business model, please read the following:

An online business model that could replace local newspapers

The Medium is the Message by Marshall McCLuhan

The Ego and the ID by Sigmund Freud