He asked that Pomey be sentenced to one year in prison, with 30 days to be served and 100 hours of community service. Pomey has already paid back the money she is accused of taking from the Pudding.

The judge will have to weigh a complex set of legal arguments from Pomey’s and Gomes’ attorneys.

He said there are two main issues he will have to rule on—whether a judge can decide not to accept a guilty plea and, if so, whether that decision is appropriate in this case.

Although Brandano allows for a judge to decline to accept a guilty plea, an Aug. 23 decision by the Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth v. Tim T., said a judge could not do so over the objections of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth does object in this case and the defendants’ lawyers argued that Tim T. should not apply.

In Tim T., the defendant was a juvenile, while Pomey and Gomes are both 22 year old. Additionally, in Tim T. the defendant had not admitted the facts of the case.

Character Testimony

Agnes’ questioning of Pomey and Gomes also revealed details of their personal lives.

Gomes said that in 2001 he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and took Prozac for one year—overlapping with the time he was embezzling money from the Pudding.

“I’m currently debating going back on that cycle,” he told the court.

Pomey said she was a camp counselor and softball coach in Pennsylvania over the summer. Gomes said he worked as a retail manager.

Both defendants’ lawyers spoke at length in defense of their clients’ characters—each claiming the other defendant was at fault.

Michael DeMarco, one of Pomey’s lawyers, said she had “maintained an unblemished record” at Harvard.

“What she did had everything to do with her friendship and relationship with Randy Gomes,” he said. “When she saw his life spiraling downward she came to his aid…it was an effort to help Randy, initially. That’s what started this larcenous behavior.”

As he spoke, Demashkieh shook her head.