Victim Helps Catch Tiverton Man Accused Of Home Burglary

WESTPORT, MA — A Tiverton man was arrested after police said a woman saw him on video surveillance trying to rob her apartment.

Westport Police said they were called to Kirby Road a little before 1:30 p.m., Tuesday after a woman told them her real-time surveillance system she recently installed picked up that there was a man inside her apartment trying to steal things. The woman helped police on the phone as they arrived, telling them she could see the suspect looking out the window. She also saw the suspect leave her apartment and enter an apartment next door.

When police went inside the next door apartment, they arrested Kevin Dias, 38, of Tiverton. Police said they saw him hiding behind clothes in a small closet.

According to police, the apartment Dias hid in belonged to his girlfriend. They said his girl friend cooperated with police, and spoke with Dias on the phone while he was hiding. She tried to get him to leave the apartment on his own, but Dias refused.

Dias refused police orders to get out of the closet and tried to fight officers, police said. He was charged with breaking and entering, malicious damage to the apartment door and resisting arrest.

The victim told police she had the security cameras installed after her home was broken into last week. Coins, jewelry and a friend's birthday card with a $40 gift card to Victoria's secret were taken. After executing a search warrant on Dias, police said they found some of the jewelry, the sweatshirt he was wearing in surveillance footage and a receipt for Victoria's Secret for clothing purchased on the stolen gift card.

Photo via Westport Police