Police
seek
serial
burglar
By CARL E. HARTDEGEN
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD – A Franklin Street resident came home Thursday to find an intruder in his bedroom and his description of the man gave city detectives a break in their investigation into a series of break-ins in the Franklin Street area.
Detectives report that they believe that since Feb. 14 at least four burglaries in the area were committed by the same thief, who appears to have gained entry via windows during daylight hours.
In three of the four incidents, police reports show that the window of opportunity for the thief has been during daylight hours. In the fourth incident the residents had been away for a few days, so they do not know when their home was entered.
Det. Anthony Tsatsos reports that the victim of the most recent break-in said he came home shortly after noon and found a person he described as a six-foot tall stocky Hispanic man, wearing a blue and gray jacket and a black stocking cap, in his bedroom. The man is believed to have extensive “sleeve tattoos” extending to his wrists.
The victim Thursday told police that the man had piled some property, including rolls of pennies and a digital camera, on a bed. When asked what he was doing, the man said he was “moving things around” before he left via a kitchen door.
Det. John P. Barnachez said the resident followed the suspect for a short distance, as he walked at a moderate pace on Franklin Street, but soon returned to his home to call police.
Reports for the four burglaries police believe to be related show that, although items as large as laptop computers and a video game system are believed to have been stolen by the thief, and an attempt was apparently made to steal a flat screen television, most of the stolen items have been small and easy to transport.
In the Feb. 14 theft on Franklin Street, the thief appears to have gained entry by forcing open a window and making off with a purse, a collection of presidential campaign buttons and a video game system, but valuable items such as a computer and a flat screen television were not disturbed. The resident said that a relative had left the house at 7:30 a.m. and the intrusion was discovered about 11:00 a.m.
On Feb. 21, residents reported that a house on Conner Avenue had been broken into and ransacked while the occupants were away for a long weekend.
Entry was made by forcing open a rear door and two laptop computers, a coin collection, a GPS device, and jewelry, including a diamond ring, were stolen. In that theft, a flat screen television, which had been wrapped in a blanket, was found to have been left behind on a couch after being pried off a wall mount with a tool found in the house.
On Feb. 22, a Kellogg Street home was entered, apparently via a window, while the resident was away between 10:50 a.m. and 2 p.m. and jewelry was stolen. In addition, the resident told the responding officer, John Mazza, that a piggy bank about the size of a football had been about three-quarters full before the theft but, after the break-in was discovered, it was only about a quarter full.
Tsatsos said that the best thing residents can do to protect themselves from this type of crime is to be observant. Residents should take note of strangers and suspicious persons in their neighborhood and should promptly call police with any concerns.
To assist with the current investigation, residents who may have seen the suspect – a six-foot tall stocky Hispanic man with tattooed arms – in the area, or who may have any other information about the suspect or the crimes should call the detective bureau at 572 6400.
Carl E. Hartdegen can be reached at [email protected]
