In the words of Westport police, a suspect’s stone working “career got off to a rocky start” when he was caught taking large, costly stones from atop the entrance wall at Baker’s Beach Club in Westport last Thursday, Oct. 18.

At around 2:30 a.m., Westport Police arrested David McCarthy, 54, of 1 Sandy Lane, Assonet, Mass., after he was seen near the entrance to Baker’s Beach. Inside the trunk of his car were two large stones that investigators said came from a wall at the Bridge Street entrance to the private beach.

“Mr. McCarthy told police he had gotten nervous after videos of him were circulated that showed him taking the stones, said Detective Jeff Majewski. Town police had posted those videos on social media in hopes of learning who was taking the stones.

Baker’s Beach had been the target of at last three or four nights of thefts during which hundreds of dollars worth of large wall stones were pried from a stone wall. In response, the club installed a video camera pointed toward the wall.

The suspect and his vehicle, a 2018 VW four-door Passat, matched the description captured on the surveillance video, the detective said.

“When Mr. McCarthy was confronted by police, he admitted why he was there and opened his vehicle trunk which exposed two stolen wall stones,” Detective Majewski said.

He added that Mr. McCarthy had also returned at approximately 5 p.m. the day before his arrest “and was seen searching for the hidden surveillance camera.”

Detective Majewski said that after his arrest, Mr. McCarthy “told police he works for a construction company that hires police details and felt the police had better things to do.” And “he demanded an apology after he was released from court.”

Mr. McCarthy has since returned stones that he said he took, although police say that a mason will check more closely to make sure that they are the correct stones.

Mr. McCarthy told police he was building a Koi (fish) pond at his home — there were many other stones found there.

Police say the cost to repair the wall is estimated at more than $1,200.

Police charged Mr. McCarthy with malicious destruction of property and larceny.

“Police wish to thank the public for their help. No one wants to be the victim of a crime and this man caused hundreds of dollars in damage,” the detective said.