By Patrick Anderson
Gloucester police have confiscated an assortment of items — including cameras and car navigation systems — from the home of a 16-year-old Gloucester resident suspected of breaking into up to 30 cars over the past month.
The suspect, whose name has not been released because of his age, was arrested the day before Thanksgiving after, police say, he snatched a purse out of a woman's car as she was delivering ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal.
He has been charged with larceny in connection with that theft, which occurred on Friend Street near Elwell Street, but Officer Larry Ingersoll said yesterday that police hope residents in the area will identify the other confiscated items so additional charges can be added.
"The more owners, the more breaks we can see charges from," Ingersoll said.
The break-ins, all from unlocked cars, took place in the Portuguese Hill neighborhood, including Friend, Mount Vernon, Taylor and Fair streets, starting in early November, police said.
The recovered items include:
A Brookstone Cobra video camera.
A Garmin Nuvi GPS.
A Mio GPS.
A Motorola Nextel mobile phone.
An Alpine car stereo face plate.
An Armitron analog watch.
A Dynex charger with UBS port.
Owners have already come forward to claim other items, including a GPS, mobile phone and car stereo.
All of the items were recovered from the suspect's house after he admitted to breaking into cars and began cooperating with police, Ingersoll said.
Police tracked down the suspect on Nov. 25 based on a description and identification from witnesses to the Friend Street robbery.
According to Ingersoll, the victim, who lives in Manchester, parked her car on the street and left it unlocked as she entered a nearby house to deliver food for Thanksgiving dinner.
While she was inside the house, the suspect reportedly entered the car and grabbed her purse.
As the victim was coming out of the house, she saw the suspect leaving her car with the purse and called police.
Officers were able to match the description from the woman to the suspect with the help of other witnesses in the area, Ingersoll said.
Anyone who believes one of the seized items may belong to him or her is advised to call Gloucester police at 978-283-7000, or visit the Gloucester Police Station on Main Street.
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or via e-mail at panderson@gloucestertiems.com
