Cambridge Resident Arrested for Stealing GPS

Cambridge resident John L. Mehl, 57, was apprehended by Cambridge Police Department officers Feb. 4 on Church St. at approximately 10:48 p.m. for breaking and entering into a blue Volvo sedan parked on Garden St. to steal a TomTom GPS navigation device.

Mehl was charged for breaking and entering into a motor vehicle as well as drug possession, as several prescription drugs that did not belong to him were found on his person.

Mehl was spotted earlier that evening by a witness who noticed shattered glass falling to the ground as Mehl pulled away from the car window, according to the Cambridge Police Department’s incident report.

The report stated that Mehl proceeded to threaten the witness, saying “What are you looking at? Get the [expletive] out of here.”

The witness then walked away and immediately called the Harvard University Police Department.

Shortly after Mehl left the scene, HUPD detained Mehl, the Cambridge Police placed Mehl under arrest when the witness identified him.

Cambridge Police officers also found the prescription drugs Methadone, Suboxone, and Neurontin on Mehl’s person, and the report added that he had neither containers nor prescriptions for these drugs.

According to a 2008 Cambridge Police Department report, the number of larcenies from motor vehicles in 2008 was higher than the average over the past five years. The spike is due in part to a significant increase in the number of stolen GPS devices, which account for 43 percent of all thefts.

Cambridge Police Department spokesperson Emily N. Wright said she advises residents to put away not only all electronics—especially GPS devices—but also any chargers or window mounts, as these can signal the potential presence of electronic devices in parked motor vehicles.