Package Thieves Caught Red Handed by Watertown Police

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Three men suspected of stealing packages from an Arsenal Street apartment complex were arrested when Watertown Police caught them with a car full of boxes.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Feb. 24, Watertown Police received a call from a resident who saw a blue BMW backed up to the loading dock at The Gables apartment building, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.

“The caller thought it was suspicious due to the late hour, and it is not common for a passenger car to be in the shipping area,” O’Connor said. “He saw a person make several trips in and out of the building, each time coming out with packages, and placing the packages in the trunk of the vehicle.”

When the first police officer arrived, she spotted two men sitting in the BMW, and the back seat was full of boxes from Amazon and other places.

“As the officer encountered the man in the vehicle, she observed another male exiting the rear of the building carrying several more packages,” O’Connor said.

Police found more packages in the trunk. The three men had total of 45 packages. Most of them were addressed to residents of the apartment complex, while others were addressed to apartment buildings in Melrose and Franklin, O’Connor said. Many of the packages had been opened and the contents removed.

While speaking with the suspects, police identified the driver as Alan Toribio, 23, and the passenger as Anthony Noel Baez, 24, both from Lawrence. The third man was identified as Alex A. Toribio, 33, of Lawrence.

The officer asked the men how they accessed the building, O’Connor said, and Alex said that he identified himself as an IT guy and was buzzed in.

Police also found that the suspects had other pending legal charges and problems: Alex Toribio had two warrants for his arrest, Alan Toribio had a suspended driver’s license, and Baez was wanted on a probation warrant.

O’Connor said the quick action of the resident helped Watertown Police foil the crime.

“Certainly, we were successful there due to the quick observations and call from the resident, and the fast response by the police officers,” O’Connor said. 

Police are in the process of identifying the owners of the property and returning items, O’Connor said, as well as woking with Melrose and Franklin police departments.

According to O’Connor: Alex Toribio was arrested on one count of larceny over $1,200, one count of receiving stolen property over $1,200, and on two warrants from Lawrence District Court for traffic offenses; Alan Toribio was arrested on one count of larceny over $1,200, one count of receiving stolen property over $1,200 and one count of operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license; and Anthony Baez was arrested on one count of larceny over $1,200 one count of receiving stolen property over $1,200 and on the probation warrant.

8 thoughts on “Package Thieves Caught Red Handed by Watertown Police

    • Considering the fact that some people (very few) are upset with the alleged “systemic racism” in this town, which actually has none, his comment is not ignorant at all. It is well known that the majority of crimes committed in Watertown are done by those who do not live here and in many cases, minority. Now, would you like to guess as to were the majority of crime in Boston takes place? I doubt if you could find your way over there.

      • I call BS. There is systemic racism everywhere. I think that Watertown is less than many places probably owing to a tradition of being hospitable to immigrants. We have a culturally diverse town. But there is always work to do. Don’t forget that even if you are white, our immigrant ancestors likely faced prejudice.

        Mr. Murphy’s comment was snarky and ignorant. Those who are opposing racism are good people and should not be subjected to his angry and childish comment.

        Mr. J0hnson, if you are going to claim that the majority of crimes committed in Watertown are committed by outsiders, please cite a source and statistics, otherwise what you write is simply an opinion, which I suspect is motivated by your own prejudice.

  1. Great work by the resident who called the police and great work by the police themselves.

    Congratulations.

    Let’s see down the road what punishment these “alleged” thieves receive.

    Let us hope that search warrants were issued to search their homes for other stolen goods and contraband.

    Did the offenders make bail? They should not have. For those who think theft is always non-violent, would a person who caught such criminals in the act wind up injured and worse?

    As to possible racial and ethnic aspects of arrests in Watertown that some people are concerned about:

    See this study which says that Blacks are 13% of the ppoulation but commit 39% of the street crime. Hispanics stats are high too but less than that of Blacks.

    https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/8-3-who-commits-crime/

    Here’s another disturbing study:

    https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/ucr.asp?table_in=2

    So, does this suggest that Watertown’s arrest rates are racially motivated or not?

    Let us please compare stats and have a healthy public discussion.

  2. Thanks to the person who called and the Watertown finest for arresting the 3 thugs. Hope they go jail for a long time.

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