Suspects in Tiverton Car Break-Ins Strike Again

The investigation into numerous car break-ins in Tiverton continues, as connect the suspects to incidents from North Tiverton to Stone Bridge and Dadson Mobile Home Estates. A occurred in the north end last fall.

Lt. Patrick Jones and Det. Brendan McKinnon reported on Friday that around Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, they started receiving isolated reports of car break-ins in the north end. Then, on Jan. 5 there were approximately 14 cars broken into at Dadson's at 301 Bulgarmarsh Road. Calls flooded the station between 5 and 10 a.m. that morning, they said.

In addition, Jones said they received reports of three vehicle thefts, two of which were reported on Jan. 5. To date, one of the vehicles has been recovered.

"All of the vehicles were open and all of the thefts had the keys inside of them," Jones said, adding the thefts involved small electronic, such as GPS devices, as well as chains, jewelry, personal items, loose change and cash.

"We're working with local police departments because it seems there's been an uptick in this type of crime in the area and we feel it's related," Jones said, adding that the city of Fall River and town of Westport are reporting multiple car break-ins as well. The Massachusetts State Police is also working with Tiverton's Detective Division on the investigation.

"We're just telling residents they need to lock their cars, remove valuables and report any suspicious activities to the police," Jones said.

McKinnon said the car breaks normally occur between 2 and 5 a.m., a time at which the suspects are avoiding traffic and can hear a cruiser coming.

"They are clearly trying to avoid detection," he said.

Jones noted that police recovered a police scanner from one vehicle and said it must have fallen out of the pocket of one of the suspects.

"It does not belong to the person who reported the [car] break," he said. "It's organized. They may be attempting to monitor police frequencies to avoid detection."