WESTFIELD – There may be a dip in the incidence of break-ins to motor vehicles in at least three communities after the arrest Monday of a West Springfield woman who admitted to breaking into cars in Westfield, West Springfield and Agawam.
Det. Brian Freeman reports that his investigation into a Sept. 20 theft from a motor vehicle which had been parked on Williams Way led him to examine security video from a chain of gas stations and convenience stores where credit cards stolen from the car had been fraudulently used.
The detective also found that another vehicle had been reported to have been entered on John’s Drive which, like Williams Way, is in the area of Hampden Village, and a GPS device had been stolen.
Freeman reports he found that Officer Megan Bartlett had been dispatched to the same area during the time frame of his investigation for a report of a suspicious vehicle and, although she found no reason to detain the operator, Bartlett nonetheless identified the woman operating the car, a 2002 Jaguar Type X sedan.
When Freeman showed the officer a picture of the woman who had used the stolen credit card at the convenience stores, Bartlett was able to identify her as Marina L. Dipon, 25, of 96 King’s Highway, West Springfield.
Armed with that identification, Freeman notified officers to be on the lookout for the car that the woman was associated with but, in the end, encountered the distinctive vehicle himself on Turnpike Industrial Park Road while cruising the area with Det. Daniel Gustafson in search of the car.
After Dipon, whose license was found to be suspended, was arrested, a routine pre-tow inventory of the Jaguar revealed a treasure trove of evidence.
Between what was found in the vehicle and property found on her person, Dipon was found to be have four GPS units, three cell phones, a variety of credit and identification cards in the names of other persons and ten open packets containing a white powder which tested positive for heroin.
One of the GPS devices and at least one of the cards was found to belong to a John’s Drive resident who had not reported a break-in to his vehicle because he was away from the city. Additional cards were found to belong to a Longmeadow resident.
Freeman reports that, when interviewed, Dipon “opted to waive her rights under Miranda and confessed” to breaking into three cars in the Hampden Village trailer park.
In addition, the woman admitted to breaking into cars in Longmeadow and West Springfield.
While in Westfield’s custody, Longmeadow police dispatched an officer to interview Dipon.
Longmeadow Police Capt. John Stankiewicz subsequently said that his department’s investigation is ongoing and charges are pended against Dipon.
Dipon told Freeman that she stole debit and credit cards in three of the vehicles she entered – one in each of the three communities – and used the cards to buy cigarettes at the convenience stores.
She said that she sold the cigarettes on the streets of Holyoke and used the proceeds to buy heroin.
Dipon was charged with three counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle with intent to commit a felony, three charges of larceny of property valued more than $250 and single charges of improper use of a credit card valued more than $250, larceny of a credit card, receiving a stolen credit card, larceny of property valued less than $250 and possession of heroin.
She appeared for arraignment Tuesday before Judge Rita S. Koenigs in Westfield District Court and was held in lieu of $1,000 cash bail pending an Oct. 29 hearing.
In addition, Koenigs heard and allowed a motion to revoke bail which had been allowed when Dipon was arraigned in Springfield District Court on charges of possession of a Class A drug and possession of a Class B drug and ordered that she be held without right to bail.
