Alleged Car Burglar Arrested Carrying 13 GPS Devices

arrested during the wee hours last Thursday a New Hampshire man who allegedly held 13 GPS devices, along with MP3 players and chargers, taken from car break-ins.

At 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 2, a resident of Main Street towards the Malden line reported seeing a male in his backyard and driveway. When police responded to the area 3-5 minutes later, officers found a man on Main Street matching the description given by the caller, Melrose Police Lt. Mark DeCroteau said.

Officers interviewed the man and found him in possession of several different electronic items—the GPS devices, iPods and more—that Melrose Police allege are stolen property, DeCroteau said.

The police arrested Jake Hagy, 20, 7D Bartlett Ave., Somersworth, NH, on charges of receiving stolen property worth more than $250 and resisting arrest, the latter charge coming from Hagy allegedly resisting being handcuffed and placed in the police cruiser, DeCroteau said.

Melrose Police are currently working on getting the allegedly stolen items back to their rightful owners.

"We haven’t tied them to every single victim as of yet, but through the research and detective bureau I’m sure (we will)," DeCroteau said. "We’ve had several car breaks in the area in the past several months, so that’s under investigation right now."

There were also three house breaks reported earlier the same evening—one on Crescent Avenue and two on Brazil Street. DeCroteau said the detective bureau is investigating those breaks and any possible connection to the car breaks, but "more than likely, he's just involves in some larcenies from vehicles."