Police seek suspects connected to a string of car break-ins in a Watertown neighborhood that resulted in two vehicles being stolen.
Overnight from July 7 to July 8, several residents of Standish Road, Lovell Road, Poplar Street Walcott Road and Merrill Road reported that their vehicles had been broken into, and two said their vehicles were missing.
Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor said that a Nissan SUV was taken from Lovell Road, and later turned up on Merrill Road. And, a resident of Merrill Road reported that his Audi Q7 had been taken out of his driveway.
The first report of a break-in came on July 8 at 2:37 a.m. Police responded to a Standish Road home, where a homeowner got an alert from her doorbell cam that there had been some movement in front of her home at 1:30 a.m. The video shows a suspect fleeing, and the resident discovered that her car’s center console and glove box had been rummaged through, but nothing was missing.
“The footage shows a Black male, with a dark colored sweatshirt with a yellow logo in the front, grey and white sneakers, wearing a black ski mask. The person was inside the vehicle,” O’Connor said. “The video also showed another person on the street walking around with a flashlight, looking into another vehicle. There was no description because of the distance (from the camera).”
Police were flagged down by a Standish Road resident at 7:15 p.m. on the 8th, who said that someone had broken into his vehicle and rummaged through it, but nothing was missing. The man heard voices outside his home at about 1:30 a.m.
The same day, at 1:55 a.m., a Standish Road resident had reported what he thought were two juveniles looking into a car door. The man heard a door shut and when he looked out he saw someone looking into his wife’s vehicle. The two juveniles drove away in grey Mazda 6 sedan, which was followed by another vehicle, O’Connor said.
At 5:04 a.m., a Lovell Road resident called police to report his vehicle had been stolen. It had been parked on the street the night before, and when the owner came out the next morning the 2016 Nissan SUV was missing.
“He accidentally left the fob in the vehicle, and it was unlocked,” O’Connor said.
A large blanket that had been in the vehicle was found in the middle of Lovell Road, and other items from inside the SUV were found in the area.
Police got a report of a suspicious vehicle on Merrill Road at 4:49 p.m. on July 8, O’Conor said. It was the vehicle taken from Lovell Road. O’Connor said the stolen vehicle was likely linked to other break-ins in the area.
A Poplar Street resident called police at 8:25 a.m on the 8th after finding the contents of his vehicle on the front seat of his vehicle. When he checked the second vehicle, he found it had also been entered and the contents were scattered on the front seat. Nothing appeared to be missing.
Nearby on Walcott Street, two more vehicles were reportedly broken into, a resident reported on July 8 at 9:58 a.m. The contents of the glove compartment and center console were scattered around both of the cars at that home. The resident has a doorbell camera, which showed two people wearing hooded sweatshirts get out of a vehicle at 1 a.m. and a short time later get back into the vehicle and drive away. The make and model of the vehicle are unknown, and they could not get a description from the video.
At 12:24 p.m. on July 8, Police responded to a call on Merrill Road for a stolen vehicle. The owner said he came out and noticed his 2018 Audi Q7 was missing from the driveway. The family also had a second vehicle parked in front of the house, and it contained the fob for the Audi.
“It appears someone went into the other car, found the fob for the one in the driveway, and used it to take the vehicle,” O’Connor said.
Police are investigating the auto thefts and break-ins. Anyone with information can contact the Watertown Police at 617-972-6500 or submit a tip by clicking here.