A man wanted in a string of break-ins in Somerville, Massachusetts, was arrested Friday after a local resident reported a stranger in her basement.
Fabio Armelio, 47, was taken into custody around 6:35 p.m. when he was found in a Cherry Street basement.
Police were summoned to the home by the landlord after one of the tenants called them, according to Eve Mugar, who also lives there.
"My upstairs neighbor came down to my apartment and let me know that this guy had been found in our basement. She said that last night she saw him through the basement window," Mugar said. "She called at 6:30 and called the landlord to say, 'Hey are you expecting anyone? There's someone in the basement. Do you know who this is?' And he said, 'No, there definitely shouldn't be anyone down there.' And he called the police."
Somerville police say Armelio is a person of interest in at least 12 breaking and entering cases in the Powderhouse neighborhood of the city since mid-December. Investigators believe he's been targeting residents and members of the Tufts University community. He has been identified as the suspect in three of these cases, while the investigation into the others continues.
One break-in victim previously told NBC10 Boston there was evidence that the suspect stayed in her home for several days while she and her roommates were away for the holiday.
Armelio also has 20 warrants out for various crimes, including breaking and entering, larceny, possession of burglarious tools, receiving stolen property, assault, trespassing, and threats, according to police.
The cases are under investigation with help from a newly created multi-agency investigative and apprehension team that includes the Somerville Police Department, Tufts University Police, MIT Police, Boston Police, Cambridge Police, federal agencies, and support from Massachusetts State Police.
The multi-agency surveillance team that arrested Armelio was created in light of the uptick in break-ins, and Somerville's police chief says making this arrest was a priority for them.
“He does have a violent history. He has shown that he has a propensity for violence and that really highlights why we prioritized this and why we wanted to get him into custody," Somerville Police Chief Shumeane Benford said. "Because he’s engaging individuals and residents in their homes, it was a great level of concern for us. He has over 20 outstanding warrants across multiple jurisdictions. So we reached out to our partners to really try and expand the opportunity and resources to leverage the resources across jurisdictions to get him into custody.”
Armelio is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, Jan. 6, in Somerville District Court. It wasn't immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney.
