Brookline Burglaries: Possible Break in String of Home Invasions

BROOKLINE, MA - Three people arrested after a traffic stop Monday night are believed to be connected to a wave of break-ins plaguing the town.

Ingrid Mejia, 40, Jargle Soto-Soazo, 30, and Jose Romero, 32, were pulled over after an officer recognized Romero from a suspected attempted burglary caught on a home surveillance video Feb. 24. The video was turned over to police after a man saw a red Volkswagen drive up and down his street multiple times, before stopping in front of his house on Weybridge Road. Two men exited the car and were headed toward the backyard when the homeowner confronted them.

They explained that they were looking for a lost dog, though the homeowner remained suspicious and called the police after they fled the wrong way down Somerset Road.

Police determined the red Volkswagen to be registered to David Chico Matta, a reported alias of Jose Romero's.

In Brookline Monday after speculating Matta and Romero were the same person, the officer watched him get into a black SUV along with Soto-Soazo and Mejia and drive the wrong way up Coolidge Street.

According to reports the officer pulled the car over and learned that Romero had two default warrants for his arrest. He also noticed a crowbar on the floor.

Mejia, Soto-Soazo and Romero were all arrested at 10:05 p.m. and charged with possession of burglarious tools for the crowbar and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Mejia and Romero are Dorchester residents; Soto-Soazo lives in Boston.

Romero is a suspect in a month-long investigation of 18 burglaries committed in Brookline, police said.

According to Brookline TAB, in an interview after his arrest Romero identified himself and Soto-Soazo in the photo taken from the surveillance video.