Cat’s eyes – Vigilant neighbors help WPD thwart attempted break-in

A would-be cat burglar is likely not to return to the Shirley Street, after a pair of alert neighbors and a rapid response from Winthrop patrols likely interrupted a potential break-in on Point Shirley last week.

Winthrop Police arrested Scott Senn, a 37-year old resident of Willow Avenue on charges of attempting to commit a crime and malicious destruction of property over $250, following calls from neighbors that he was acting suspiciously as he loitered around the empty home of their neighbor on Tuesday, September 29.

“This case is a great example of the results that are possible when residents and neighbors get involved and cooperate with police,” said newly appointed Winthrop Police Chief Terrence Delehanty. “The residents of that neighborhood are to be applauded for working with the officers involved in helping to catch a potential criminal.”

According to the police report filed by Officer Mary Crisafi, who was the first officer on scene, she and other officers were dispatched to the neighborhood on a report by neighbors that a suspicious male was walking around an empty house at 845 Shirley Street.

“Upon arrival I observed a woman and her children pointing across the street toward (845 Shirley St.) and the harbor,” said Crisafi in her report.

At the end of a driveway close by, Crisafi also saw another woman pointing to the beach and shouting, “That’s him, he’s running.”

According to Crisafi’s report, at that time she spotted the man who was later identified as Senn and notified Officer mark Scorzella, who was responding to the scene, of the suspect’s location and what he was wearing. The suspect, at that time, was running along the beach between Shirley Street and the public landing, where Scorzella intercepted him few minutes later.

Crisafi then interviewed the witnesses and was able to walk around the home where the alleged break-in had almost occurred.

“A walk around the property at 845 Shirley Street revealed a ripped screen on a side window of a three panel bay window,” said Crisafi in her report. “The side window was smashed, and I observed a rock on the floor just inside the window. The rock appeared to have come from the adjacent rocky beach.”

After a brief interview with the Senn, Officers Scorzella and Crisafi placed him under arrest. He was arraigned in East Boston District court on the charges the following day.