It took a few months, but Stowe police were finally able to track down and arrest a Waterbury man suspected of burglarizing more than a dozen Stowe homes, as well as places in Washington and Chittenden counties.
James F. Myers, 41, was arrested Friday after a woman took a picture of him shortly after he allegedly broke into her house.
In the photo, Myers actually appears to be posing for the camera, and the incident provided ample evidence for Stowe police to search his mobile home in Waterbury.
Whitcomb said Myers was the main suspect in a series of home break-ins that started in November. Though Myers had already been arrested — allegedly caught red-handed burglarizing a home in Richmond — Stowe police couldn’t pin the local burglaries on him.
Myers gave them another chance last Friday when he allegedly burgled a home on Gold Brook Road after the homeowner briefly stepped out.
While police were investigating that incident, Myers allegedly moved on to another home, this one on Ruby Raymond Road in Waterbury Center.
That’s where the homeowner took the photo of Myers, looking at the camera, hands at his sides. She also took a picture of his car, a white Chevrolet Malibu, and its Vermont license plates.
Whitcomb, the detective, went to Myers’ mobile home in Waterbury, and Myers consented to a search. Whitcomb said police found the jewelry that had just been stolen from Gold Brook Road in Myers’ trash can.
Now, Stowe police have about 1,500 pieces of recovered jewelry on display at the police department, and burglary victims are stopping in regularly to see if their items are in the mix.
Whitcomb said police believe they’ll be able to prove that Myers is responsible for all the unsolved burglaries.
Myers will be arraigned on the Stowe burglaries next Wednesday.
“This case will be closed when we put this all together,” Whitcomb predicted.
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