Police called for robbery and burglary
Published on August 26th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Police were kept more than busy Tuesday morning when a 911 call was placed from a condominium complex located at 44 Main Street and, soon after, a tip about a bank robbery was received.
At approximately 8:11 am on Tuesday morning, a man called the police emergency line and told a dispatcher that a black male had kicked in his door and fled the apartment once he noticed the occupant. According to Sergeant William Surette, a police cruiser was in the immediate area and was on the scene within a the next few minutes.
They spoke to the occupant of the condominium who told them that a black male with a heavy build, wearing a white cap and possibly wearing shorts, had broken down his door before fleeing.
With the aid of Wakefield Reading, Woburn, State Police and a State Police canine unit, a search party was set up to cover the area. In the search, officers discovered that another apartment had been broken into in the complex along with a storage closet.
At about 10 am, police received an anonymous call warning officers about a possible bank robbery.
According to Surette, "In it, we felt that was going to be a ploy to get us the heck out of (the condominium area) and down to the bank."
After hearing about the robbery of MassBank in Medford and after tracing the 911 call to a Rose Tree Plaza pay phone (far away from the condominium suspect's location), however, police units were dispatched to the bank which was located on Main Street. Officers stayed in that area for several hours and may have scared off potential robbers, Surette said.
"What we don't know, in fact, is if they drove by and saw the police presence and thought better of it," he explained.
The search of the condominium complex continued for the next several hours as officers searched all area, but they were unsuccessful in finding the suspect.
"Hopefully we'll be able to get him," said a disappointed Surette. "We were right (at the complex) when the call came in, so we felt confident."
Surette said that police suspected the man had been in the area for some time and explained that a break into an apartment at 45 North Street, discovered after the search concluded, is believed to be related.
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