Father and Son Arrested in Spree of Wal-Mart Car Battery Thefts

West Haven police arrested two men accused of stealing car batteries from Wal-Mart.

Peter Burwell, Jr., 46, and Peter Burwell III, 25, both face charges of larceny, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, possession of burglary tools, and motor vehicle charges.

West Haven police said they have been working with police in Milford and Rocky Hill investigating the thefts of numerous car batteries from Wal-Mart locations. As part of the investigation, a battery at a Rocky Hill location was outfitted with a tracking device.

According to police, Monday around 11 p.m. the tracked battery was stolen from Rocky Hill and brought to the Wal-Mart in West Haven. Police located the battery, along with many others, inside a U-haul van on Center Street and Union Avenue. Both suspects were in the van when it was located.

Police said in total they recovered 125 car batteries, which were stolen from a container outside the stores where customers can exchange old batteries for new ones.

An auto shop worker told NBC Connecticut that used car batteries still have monetary value and cans sell between $10 to $15 apiece.

The Burwells were both arrested and held on bond.

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