After police in Somerville, Massachusetts, issued a warning about a wanted man this weekend, neighbors say he's been breaking into homes on their street.
The Somerville police warning, issued Saturday, urges the community to call 911 if they see the 47-year-old man, though his name and what he's wanted for isn't explained. Tufts University's executive director of public safety issued an advisory to the community Saturday about several break-ins off campus, though they didn't directly connect the warning to the Somerville police warning.
One woman says she believes the man was living in her home on Bromfield Road while she and her roommates were away for the recent holidays.
The man "rummaged through our basement and then recently, a couple days ago, there was, like, evidence that he had been staying in our house while we were say for Christmas break," Tufts University senior Mikayla Paquette said, adding that people in the neighborhood have been on edge.
Thomas Pimentel said the man has been in his backyard down the street.
"Almost two years ago, this started happening," he said. "The weirdest part of this guy is he wouldn't do anything. He would stand and he would look around for an extended period of time."
Pimentel is concerned the man will end up harming his family or the students living in the area.
Other residents of the street say they're now aware of what's been happening.
Asked Monday why the department isn't releasing the wanted man's name, a Somerville police spokesman said it could jeopardize their investigation, but insisted they were actively working to execute a long list of arrest warrants for the person.
In her message to the Tufts community, Executive Director of Public Safety Yolanda Smith said her team was working with law enforcement on the recent spate of break-ins.
"These incidents have been reported by residents who returned home and found doors unsecured or other indications that someone had been in the residence while they were gone," she wrote, urging people to contact police any time they see suspicious activity or find their house has been broken into.
