Man found in basement arrested in connection to string of Somerville break-ins
SOMERVILLE - Police have arrested a man in connection to a string of break-ins in Somerville after he was found hiding in a basement.
Man arrested after being found in basement
Somerville police received a call just after 6:30 p.m. on Friday about an unknown man in a resident's basement on Cherry Street. Officers arrested 47-year-old Fabio Armelio without incident.
Armelio is a person of interest in a string of twelve recent break-ins targeting Tufts University community members and Somerville residents in the Powderhouse neighborhood since December 20, police say. He has been connected to three of the incidents so far.
"Very glad he's been taken in," said Michael Roberts, who lives across the street and witnessed the arrest.
He had 20 warrants at the time of his arrest from Somerville, Tufts University, Cambridge, MIT, Lawrence, and Boston. The warrants range from breaking and entering, larceny from a building, assault, trespassing, threats, and more.
Armelio will be arranged in Somerville District Court on Monday.
Residents say neighborhood is easy target during holiday
"There's not too much activity going on, and empty streets are obviously more encouraging if you want to break into a home," said Travis Taylor, a resident of Somerville.
According to Taylor, the community is more at risk of burglaries when students are away from Tufts University's campus during holiday break.
"Some of [the residents] stay a while, but most of its transient people that stay a few months or a few years or not even a year," Roberts said.
Tufts issued a statement on December 28, warning community members to be extra vigilant. They recommended leaving a light on when you are not home, and double checking all entrances are locked.
Somerville woman confronts burglar
Anna Vicente confronted a burglar after she came home to find an unknown man in her hallway. She said that the intruder pretended that he lived there when she questioned who he was. The man was trying to steal chairs and a computer from her home, she said.
"This [the banister] was ripped off and it has nails on it, so he was going like this with the nails. I think he was going to hit us with it," said Vicente. "Then I said, 'I'm calling police,' after I saw that because I thought he would try something."
The intruder fled after she called 911. Police said her house was near the area where other break-ins were happening near the Tufts Medford-Somerville campus.
