Westford Police Hope Red Sox Hat Helps Catch Burglar
WESTFORD (CBS) - A Westford man came home Wednesday to a burglary in progress. Now police hope a Red Sox hat leads to the criminal's arrest.
Brandon Luna is staying with his sister on Dunstable Drive. When he pulled up to the house, he noticed something amiss almost immediately.
"I heard some rustling in the basement," said Luna. He was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when a young man ran out the back door and hopped a six-foot fence to get away.
"I should have caught him," said Luna who chased after the guy.
Within minutes, police flooded the scene and found a major clue- a size seven, all-black Red Sox hat with the retail sticker still on the flat brim. Westford Police plan to send hat to State Police for DNA testing.
Police say the clumsy burglar likely lives in the area. They're looking for a white male in his early 20's. Luna says he was wearing work boots, jeans and a black shirt with the number "47" on the back in gold.
"From my experience if they do it once, they're going to do it again. And they're going to keep doing it until he gets caught or something else happens," said Westford Police Captain Victor Neal.
Neal and Sergeant David Connell took to the department's Facebook page to appeal for help finding the hat's owner. They say social media is a new method for them in trying to generate leads.
Luna and his sister, Andrea Kenneally, praised Westford PD's proactive approach to crime-solving and hope the burglar is caught before he tries it again.
"To work as hard as you do every day and then get that phone call that your safe place has been broken into, it's a horrible feeling," said Kenneally.
