Police Arrest Two Suspects In 'Pipe Wrench' Burglaries

Peabody Terrace has been hit three times within the past month by burglars using pipe wrenches to pry open apartment doors.

Harvard police patrolling the Peabody Terrace area Tuesday afternoon caught two men with a pipe wrench and later found an estimated $5000 in stolen goods that were stored inside their car parked on Putnam Ave., Captain Jeffrey S. Kahn said yesterday.

The two men, Kevin R. Mannix and Arthur D. Ford, both of Somerville, were caught running from an entryway with stuffed canvas sacks and stereos in hand, Kahn said yesterday. They were charged with breaking and entering, larceny, and possession of stolen goods. The Harvard police traced the items found in the car to two previous "pipe-wrench" thefts.

Two residents in a nearby entryway who were robbed last Friday afternoon by the "pipe-wrench" method, said yesterday that a neighbor had reported a suspicious person to the Harvard police at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday, but received no response.

An hour later, the couple said, another neighbor who noticed that their apartment door was damaged called the Harvard police, who then arrived at the apartment, but fixed the door only.

Upon returning home at 6 p.m., the couple said they discovered that a target revolver, a Nikon camera, jewelry, sterling silver and other items were all missing from their bedroom.

Harvard police, the couple said, found some of their stolen possessions in the suspects' car, "but they have no idea where our really valuable things are."

Kahn said yesterday the Tuesday arrest was "the largest non-auto monetary recovery" made by the Harvard police since July. The goods found inside the car included radios, jewelry, silverware, television sets, stereos and cameras, he said.

Ford and Mannix were released on bail yesterday.