Newton Woman Finds Masked Man In Her Home, No Arrests Yet: PD

NEWTON, MA — A week after a woman woke up to a man with a black ski-mask outside her bedroom, police have not made any arrests. Nor do they have any updates on the string of home break-ins right before that or the five that came after.

"It's still under investigation," Newton police spokesperson Lt. Bruce Apotheker said on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been 112 reports of break-ins across the city, including 56 car break-ins. Of those total break-ins, 22 car break-ins were reported in the past month and 15 building-break-ins, according to the police logs.

Last Thursday, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said nine house break-ins happened in the Waban/Newton Highlands neighborhood and in Oak Hill between March 12 and March 21. Since then, were five more house break-ins reported and two apartment break-ins, police logs show.

"People were home during four of these break-ins, and thankfully no one was hurt," Fuller said. "But, a lot of us are nervous."

In the March 21 home invasion, around 3 a.m. a woman was awakened by what she described as "tapping noises" outside her bedroom. When she went to see what was going on, she saw a man standing there. She told police he wasn't wearing a mask at first, but put on a black ski mask as soon as he saw her.

"She and the man stared at each other for a brief moment before [he] said something, which she could not understand," police said.

He then ran down the stairs and out the back door toward the Charles River Country Club, police said.

The resident described the intruder as a large white man in his 40s. She said he was about 6'0" tall, and 200lbs., with grayish red eyebrows and wearing a black ski mask, a dark jacket with
orange shoulders and orange on the back, tan pants, gray boots, and black leather gloves with
wool or cotton fabric on the cuffs. She said the clothing all looked new.

String of break-ins near Waban and Newton Highlands

On March 18 around 2:15 a.m. a Redwood Road woman was asleep on the sofa in her living room, when she woke up to a noise in her kitchen. When she went to see what it was she saw a man about 6 foot tall in a hoodie trying to get into her home through the sliding glass door that was locked and braced with a chair. The man ran off before police arrived.

Later that same morning, a Helene Road resident reported an out-of-town neighbor's door had been left open, possibly for a couple of days. When police got there just before 10 a.m., they saw an empty TV mount on the living room wall, the master bedroom in disarray, and a door that looked forced open.

On March 15, there was a string of seven home break-ins in the Newton Highlands and Waban area: on Mary Ellen Road, Winslow Road, Beethoven Avenue, Harrison Street, and Carver Road.

In one case, a couple had just gone to sleep when they were awoken to a person with a flashlight in their bedroom. The home invader rand down the stairs and out of the house upon seeing them. Police said they found a window downstairs pried open. In another instance, a Harrison Street resident was in her basement around 10:30 p.m. when she heard people walking upstairs. She started to go up to her living room and heard more than one person in the bedrooms. She ran over to her neighbor's house to call the police. She said she watched as people walked through her house, from her neighbors and described them as about 5'6.

Newton police said they believe those break-ins are connected, and increased patrols in those neighborhoods.

Although in every one of those instances, people said their doors and windows were locked, police lock all windows and doors and to make sure there are no ladders or chairs that could be used to access second floors. Experts also say motion detectors outside the home are helpful.

Police are asking anyone with information about the break-in to call them at 617 796-2100 or on the Tips Line at 617 796-2121.