Serial gas station burglar gets three years

Posted 2/27/17

WESTPORT — He got away with it once so a New Bedford man broke into the same Westport gas station twice more in the next few days before his luck ran out.

Now, Daniel Pedro, 31, of New …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Serial gas station burglar gets three years

Posted

WESTPORT — He got away with it once so a New Bedford man broke into the same Westport gas station twice more in the next few days before his luck ran out.

Now, Daniel Pedro, 31, of New Bedford will spend the next three years in jail.

Following a brief hearing last week, Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced Mr. Pedro to serve three years to three years and one day in state prison. The judge also placed the defendant on probation for three years and ordered him to pay $1,400 in restitution to Westport Gas.

Mr. Pedro had leaded guilty to charges of breaking and entering during the nighttime to commit a felony (three counts) and larceny from a building (three counts).

Westport Police said the three break-ins at the 634 American Legion Highway gas station happened March 23, 24 and 26, 2016. Each time, police responded to alarms to find broken windows and lottery tickets stolen.

Video surveillance after the first 11 p.m. break showed a man drive into the parking lot in a dark colored GMC Sierra style cab pickup truck.  He used a tool to break the window next to the side door, reached through and unlocked the door.  Once inside, police said the intruder took a large amount of Massachusetts Lottery scratch tickets and a small number of Marlboro cigarettes.

The next day, March 24 at 10:55 p.m., video surveillance showed the same GMC pickup pull up to almost the same spot.  The same many got out wearing the same flannel hooded jacket and pants with the stripe down the side. He again broke a window, climbed in and stole many more lottery scratch tickets. 

He returned on Saturday, March 26 at 9:35 p.m., but earlier that day Westport Gas had upgraded its surveillance video system. That improved video showed the same suspect use a wood handled hammer to break the left front sliding window of the building.  He climbed through the broken window without wearing gloves.  Police later found small spots of blood on the broken glass, on a credit card reader, on the side door, and on the backside of a lottery ticket.

Massachusetts State Lottery officials told investigators that several of the stolen scratch tickets were cashed at locations in New Bedford.  Video from these stores showed the same man as seen during the breaks. 

Westport Police sent still images from the videos to New Bedford Police who recognized the intruder as Daniel Pedro.  

On April 1, Westport and New Bedford Police arrested the defendant, who was found hiding behind an armoire in a small bedroom of his mother’s house in New Bedford.  Mr. Pedro had a bandage on his right index finger and cuts on his right wrist and left knee. 

The GMC pickup, which turned out to have been stolen, was recovered in New Bedford.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morissette.

"This is another example of video surveillance being critical to solving crimes that otherwise go uncharged.  I commend the ownership at Westport Gas for upgrading their surveillance system, which greatly assisted us in holding the defendant responsible for these crimes," District Attorney Quinn said.  "This defendant was held accountable for disrupting a business whose employees and ownership are just trying to make a living."

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.