Massachusetts

Police: Suspect Crashed Stolen Vehicle Into Business, Home Before Escaping

Police are searching for a suspect believed to have been involved in a string of dangerous crimes in several Massachusetts communities on Thursday morning.

Police said surveillance video captured the first incident at Jimmy's Garage on Main Street in Wilmington around 5 a.m.

A male suspect was seen driving a truck through the garage door and getting out, stealing about six cartons of cigarettes. He then got back into the truck and took off.

Police said the alarm was going off during the incident.

Garage owner Jimmy Dimopoulos told NBC10 Boston he didn't know what to make of the ordeal but was surprised at how much damage occurred.

"What can I think?" he said, laughing. "Somebody broke in. That's all, but of course, I didn’t expect that extent of damage."

A short time later, police said a suspect crashed a truck into a house on School Street in Andover. The homeowner told police they then watched the suspect run downhill toward Essex Street. 

The suspect was described as being a male in his 20s or 30s about 6 feet tall, and was wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt. Officers searched the area but were unable to find him.

The vehicle involved was identified by police as the same vehicle that was involved in the burglary at Jimmy's Garage in Wilmington.

While investigating the scene in Andover, Andover and Wilmington officers were also notified that Tewksbury police were investigating a break-in at a service station in their town.

Police later received a stolen vehicle report about a truck that had been stolen from Richdale Market on Railroad Street in Andover.

The stolen truck had a black flatbed and "Boston Hill Fence" written on the doors, with a commercial plate number of R83326. There was a yellow Fisher plow mounted on the front of the truck.

That vehicle was last seen around 8:10 am. in Boston. Police attempted to stop it but the truck fled.

Police said they believe all of the incidents are related. Officers from Wilmington, Tewksbury, Andover, Woburn, Boston and the Massachusetts State Police are now working together to identify the suspect.

Anyone with information on the suspect or any of the incidents is asked to call Wilmington police at 978-658-5071 or Andover police at 978-475-0411, Ext. 0.

Contact Us