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Cohasset Burglary Solved - Youths to be Charged
Created by Cohasset Mariner on 20th July 2007, 12:42 amAfter months of investigating a string of break-ins, three juveniles from Cohasset will be charged in connection with several of the robberies in Scituate and one in Cohasset.
Cohasset Police Chief James Hussey said the three juveniles will be charged with malicious destruction of property for setting fire to an outdoor toilet, while only two will be charged with burglary for a late night break in on Beechwood Street last month.
Sgt. Det. Greg Lennon said the malicious destruction charges stemmed from a June 20 incident where an outdoor toilet at the Beechwood Street ball field was destroyed and burnt to the ground. The burglary charge stemmed from a later incident in which a Beechwood Street home was the site of a late night-break in.
Lennon said a laptop computer was confiscated from a home on Church Street in connection with the Beechwood Street burglary. He said Cohasset Police are still investigating the robbery. “We’re making additional efforts to uncover more stolen property,” he said.
Lt. Detective Mike Stewart of the Scituate Police Department said Scituate Police will also charge two of the juveniles, ages 14 and 15, with multiple counts of burglary stemming from several break-ins in Scituate’s West End, while the other 14-year-old will face one burglary charge. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, Stewart said.
Two of the juveniles were arrested for an attempted breaking and entering of a motor vehicle on Cherry Lane in Scituate on July 7. In that incident, a resident allegedly witnessed the youths in the act of breaking into his car. The suspects fled to a home about a half-mile away on Church Street in Cohasset, where they were later tracked down with the help of the department’s K-9 unit. Stewart said after further investigation, police found that the two juveniles had also broken into a house on nearby Indian Winds Drive before moving to Cherry Lane. “We found it was the same kids on the same night,” Stewart said.
On July 11, police executed a search warrant on the house on Church Street, where Stewart said police uncovered a number of items allegedly stolen in different robberies over the past three months. Among the items recovered by police included customized knives allegedly stolen from a vehicle across the street from the attempted Cherry Lane break-in and a laptop computer linked to the Beechwood Street robbery in Cohasset. Police also recovered a couple hundred dollars in cash.
“It was a lot of risk for very little reward,” Stewart said.
Stewart said the three juveniles are cooperating with police and that officers are still recovering stolen materials linked to the robberies. He said the juveniles are lucky not to have encountered other potential consequences commonly associated with late night break-ins, namely run-ins with defensive homeowners.
“It’s a very dangerous thing entering people’s homes at night, because anything can happen,” he said. “People are very protective of their homes and their property.”
Over the past three to four months, police have been investigating a series of robberies in Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield and Hingham. While the Beechwood Street break-in has been the only reported burglary in Cohasset, Scituate Police have responded to a series of reports from residents in the West End regarding late night break-ins on Summer Street and neighboring areas. In each instance, items such as wallets, cash and small electronic items like iPods sitting in plain view were taken. Stewart said all of the break-ins occurred between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. and that suspects allegedly entered the houses through unlocked front doors and windows.
