Security Guard Arrested in Westwood for Allegedly Stealing from Retirement Home

A Middleboro man was arrested this week after Westwood Police said he stole tens of thousands of dollars from residents at a retirement complex where he worked as a security guard.

Police arrested Frank Tarr, 60, of Middleboro, charging him with two counts of burglary and two counts of larceny from a building in connection with a number of burglaries and thefts from Fox Hill Village in Westwood dating back to Oct. 2013, police said in a statement Wednesday.

“All of the crimes occurred in the same fashion; tenants who were away on vacation, in the hospital or extended leave returned home to find their valuables taken,” Westwood police wrote in the statement. “There was no forced entry in any of the breaks and it seemed as is the culprit either wore gloves or wiped fingerprints from the scene of the crime indicating that the thefts were committed by someone with inside knowledge of the residents’ activities and access to some type of master key.”

Westwood Police Det. Derrick Stokes worked with Fox Hill Village’s security manager to review video footage from hidden security cameras installed throughout the complex, which revealed Tarr entering a home of a Fox Hill resident who was on vacation and “pilfering throughout the apartment.” Stokes obtained arrest and search warrants for Tarr and executed a search warrant of his Middleboro home along with the assistance of Middleboro Police.

As a result of that search, authorities were able to obtain numerous items from Tarr’s vehicle and home, including latex surgical gloves, similar to the ones he’d been seen wearing on the surveillance footage.

Tarr was arraigned on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at Dedham District Court, where a bail of $500 was set; he was subsequently released.

“Many people, including Frank Tarr, probably thought that his victims were forgotten and their cases would never be solved, but ‘Committed to Service’ isn’t just a phrase on our police cars, it’s a philosophy we live by,” Westwood Police Chief Jeffrey Silva said in a statement. “I personally went with my officers to make this arrest because I want everyone to know very clearly, when you break into our residents’ homes, it’s like breaking into one of our homes and we’re coming after you.”

Photo Credit: Westwood Police Department