Resident gets live view: Tiverton man charged in Westport case

Security cam nabs break-in suspect in action

Resident gets live view: Tiverton man charged in Westport case

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 10/16/18

WESTPORT — A Westport woman’s check of her new real-time home surveillance system Monday afternoon revealed a man inside apparently in the act of stealing her things.

Detective Jeff Majewski …

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Resident gets live view: Tiverton man charged in Westport case

Security cam nabs break-in suspect in action

Resident gets live view: Tiverton man charged in Westport case

Posted

WESTPORT — A Westport woman’s check of her new real-time home surveillance system Monday afternoon revealed a man inside apparently in the act of stealing her things.

Detective Jeff Majewski said that, at 1:23 p.m., the woman called police to her 32 Kirby Road residence. And when they arrived minutes later she was able to tell them that the man was still inside — in fact he looked out the window as the cruisers pulled up.

Still on camera, he then fled the apartment and ran into one next door.

Police surrounded the scene and contacted other tenants, Detective Majewski said. A Dartmouth Police K9 was also called.

“Officers subsequently entered the apartment” into which the man had fled “and located a male identified as Kevin Dias, age 38 of Tiverton, hiding behind clothes inside a small closet,” the detective said. The suspect had entered apartment 2 North which was being rented by Mr. Dias’ girlfriend. “She was cooperative with police, identified her boyfriend and spoke with him on the phone while he was hiding.” She also told police that she had attempted to get him to exit the apartment on his own which he refused to do.

“He also refused to exit the closet,” the detective said, and fought with police. “He was arrested and denied committing the crime. He told police he was afraid because he had a 5-year jail sentence hanging over his head on a previous Rhode Island case.”

Officers viewed the video and identified Mr. Dias as the break-in suspect. Officers were told by the victim that the apartment had been broken into last week as well which precipitated the camera installation. The suspect had taken coins, jewelry and a friend’s birthday card with an enclosed $40 Victoria’s Secret gift card, police said.

Investigators obtained a search warrant to look for the stolen items. Officers located the sweatshirt the suspect was seen wearing in the video as well as some of the jewelry. Officers also located a receipt from Victoria’s Secret and clothing purchased on the $40 gift card a day earlier. The gift card had been stolen in last week’s break-in.

Mr. Dias was charged with breaking and entering in the daytime, malicious damage to the apartment door as he pried it open as well as resisting arrest.

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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.