Crime & Safety

Library DVD Bandit Had Cambridge Items: Police

Police announced the arrest of a suspect in the theft of more than 50 DVDs and video games from libraries, including Cambridge.

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Brookline Police announced Wednesday the arrest of a suspect earlier this month in the theft of more than 50 DVDs and video games from Boston area libraries, including items from the Cambridge library.

An employee of Brookline Public Library told police last month that the man, who remains unidentified, was misrepresenting himself and his children to open additional library accounts and checking out the maximum amount of materials without returning them.

According to Brookline Police, it was later determined there were ten library cards associated with the suspect; he reportedly used accounts of the two children he claimed guardianship of to check out a significant number of materials.

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Police believed that the man intended on keeping the items and placed him under arrest on June 7. During the arrest, more than 50 DVDS, video games and empty cases from libraries in Brookline, Cambridge and Boston were recovered, according to police.

Police said the estimated value of items taken from the Brookline Public Library is $4,124.50. The suspect is charged with six counts of larceny over $250 by false pretenses and two counts of identity fraud.

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>>>Photo of DVD courtesy of Flickr user Matt J. Newman, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0

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