Undercover Officer Nabs Suspect in Car Break-Ins

An undercover Harvard police officer yesterday arrested a man allegedly responsible for a "rash" of break-ins into cars parked at the Soldiers Field Park garage, a Harvard police spokesperson said.

Eddie Simpson, 17, of Harvard St., Cambridge, was arrested at 12:55 a.m. yesterday on the Weeks Footbridge after a brief chase, said Carl A. Tempesta, a department spokesperson.

Simpson was charged with two counts of breaking and entering into a motor vehicle and one count of possession of burglary tools, the spokesperson said.

In addition to confessing to the two break-ins early yesterday morning, Simpson admitted to having robbed three other automobiles in the garage over the last two weeks, Tempesta said.

The garage, located on Western Ave. near the Business School, is used primarily by affiliates of the Business School and Kennedy School of Government.

The arrest capped off police attempts to find a pattern in what Tempesta called the recent "rash" of break-ins to cars in the garage. Officers determined that most of the crimes were occurring soon after the security guard went off duty at 11 p.m.

Starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday night, a plainclothes officer patrolled the building, Tempesta said. At about 12:45 a.m., "the fish went for the bait," he said. At that time, a man jumped out from between two cars upon seeing the officer, the spokeperson said.

The suspect then jumped from the upper floor of the garage to the ground, according to a police report. When Simpson was caught on the bridge, he was allegedly carrying an Audiovox car stereo, the report said.

Continued Investigation

Upon returning to the garage, the plainclothes officer found a green Honda with a shattered window, police said. The owner was called to the scene and identified the radio as having been stolen from the Honda, police said.

There was also a Boston police warrant out for Simpson's arrest on charges of cocaine trafficking, Tempesta said.

Simpson was arraigned yesterday on the break-in charges in Brighton Municipal Court and then taken to Dorchester Municipal Court to face the drug charges, according to police.

Tempesta said that the investigation would continue, adding that he doubted the arrest would put an end to break-ins at the garage. His prediction was borne out yesterday at about 5:30 p.m., when, according to police radio reports, another person reported that a car in the garage had been broken into.