"Boston police watch serial thief for 2 days, then pounce" by Laura Crimaldi, Globe Staff February 19, 2015
Barry Bartel has a criminal history going back to 1989 and more than 125 court arraignments on his record, but Wednesday night he was a free man walking through the Back Bay and eyeing tony spots like the Valentino clothing store, according to police officials.
Nearby, however, were Boston police officers from the Special Investigations Unit, who had been watching Bartel for two days after learning he was a suspect in recent larcenies and break-ins.
They watched him unsuccessfully try the door at the Galerie d’Orsay art gallery and then lost sight of him for about five minutes, a police report said. When he reemerged at 10:30 p.m., police say, Bartel had forced his way into the James Perse clothing boutique on Arlington Street and made off with a black plastic trash bag filled with nearly $8,000 worth of pants and shirts.
He tried to flee in a taxicab that he had hailed, but was arrested after a struggle, the police report said.
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Bartel’s arrest came as officers target property criminals who are trying to take advantage of the recent onslaught of snow and how it has distracted people, police said. Property crimes tend to creep up during extreme weather, while violent offenses decline, Police Commissioner William B. Evans said Thursday.
“The criminals think they can hide behind the snow,” he said. “We step up our patrols.”
Do they really think that?
Footprints in snow lead to robbery suspect
You gotta cover up those tracks!
Bartel, 42, who is listed as homeless in a police report, appeared in Boston Municipal Court Thursday to answer new charges including breaking and entering in the nighttime, larceny over $250, and resisting arrest. Not-guilty pleas were entered on his behalf....
He's a bum!
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