On Oct. 8, 2021, an apartment located on South Point Drive in the Harbor Point on the Bay apartment complex was broken into and burglarized. In the apartment at the time of the burglary were seven UMass Boston students, who had thousands of dollars worth of items robbed from them. Reported stolen items consisted of expensive laptops, iPads, car keys, credit and bank cards and IDs.
The perpetrator used many of the stolen credit cards to make fraudulent purchases at a Speedway, a McDonald’s, and an Exxon Station between the hours of 5 and 6:15 a.m. The purchases made by the perpetrator totaled almost $200.
On Oct. 27, one person was arrested in connection to the break-in and burglary of the Harbor Point apartment. The suspect has been identified as the next door neighbor of the victims of the South Point Drive apartment.
Detective Eric Schmidt of the Boston Police Department, the lead detective on the case, was able to obtain security camera footage from the Speedway exterior and interior to get a visual on the perpetrator. He was also able to identify the make and model of the perpetrator’s vehicle.
The police report states that “because of the hour that the Breaking & Entering took place, Detective Schmidt investigated the possibility of the Suspect and Suspect’s vehicle belonging to the same residential community by conferring with Long Wood Security that services the Harbor Point Community.”
A lieutenant from Long Wood Security was able to identify the vehicle and driver who appeared in the Speedway security footage.
The perpetrator was identified as a resident of the Harbor Point Community who lives with his mother and two brothers. The perpetrator was described as “a Hispanic male that is around 5 feet, 7 inches in height, around 150 pounds in weight, with long black hair that is usually tied up in a Pony Tail and usually has facial hair.”
On Oct. 18, 2021, Detective Schmidt was reportedly going to seek an arrest warrant out of the South Boston District Court.
On Oct. 21, 2021, multiple detectives from District Six conducted an interview with the suspected perpetrator.
The suspect’s car was seized and searched by the police, where they recovered numerous items that matched those stolen from the victims of the South Point Drive apartment. The victims were able to confirm that the items did belong to them.
The suspect was described as being “argumentative, confrontational, and, at times, belligerent while speaking with the Detectives.”
The police report states, “Based on the fact that the above stolen items were discovered in plain view during the execution of a search warrant in Suspect’s vehicle and the fact that the items total value exceeded $1200, Detective Schmidt [will] seek charges out of South Boston District Court against [the suspect]”.
Around 11 p.m. on Oct. 21, patrol officers responded to a radio call at the Harbor Point victims’ address for potential witness intimidation.
A victim from the apartment reported a frightening altercation with the suspect, and reported that the suspect continued to loiter outside their apartment; another victim also reported that her Door Dash order had been stolen from her front door during this time.
The police report states that “[the victim] was so frightened and emotionally distressed by the incident that the parties inside the home called 911 to seek immediate assistance.”
Several residents and guests at the apartment were visibly upset and crying, and several guests requested that the responding detectives accompany them back to their dorms at UMass Boston, where they live.
When the responding detectives attempted to speak with the suspect, he was reportedly “again, uncooperative and belligerent. [He] initially denied any interaction with his neighbors but then began to scream maniacally” and told the officers to get away from his apartment.
Due to the fact that the suspect was screaming and causing a scene loud enough to disturb nearby apartments and pedestrians, the detectives and officers warned the suspect that he was disturbing the peace. However, the officers declined to arrest the suspect at that time, in the interest of restoring peace and de-escalating the situation. The entire interaction was captured on several body cameras worn by the responding officers.
According to the police report, an arrest warrant was sought from the South Boston District Court for witness intimidation against the suspect. The warrant was issued on Oct. 25, by the Honorable Pamela Dashiell out of the South Boston District Court. On Oct. 27, Detective Schmidt placed the suspect under arrest for witness intimidation and receiving stolen property.