Police, Fire, Liquor Store Collaborate to Arrest Car-Break Suspect

A man suspected of multiple car breaks was arrested Saturday with the help of a Medford firefighter who spotting him trying to break into his car parked at the High Street fire station.

Police K-9s followed a trail of blood allegedly left by Joseph Ross, 43, before an officer working a detail at Kappy's liquors spotted him perusing the shelves about 10:30 Saturday night, according to a Medford Police report.

Ross drove to the liquor store in a Massachusetts Highway Department van he stole from a local tow company earlier Saturday night, police said.

Kappy's employees volunteered to help police by standing side-by-side with Ross for an impromptu line-up in the store's parking lot.

Ross, who lives at 171 Gaston St., faces 15 charges alleging he broke into eight vehicles.

Hunt Started with Call from Firefighter

About 8:30 p.m. Friday, Firefighter Jeff King saw Ross standing near his Jeep Wrangler, parked at the West Medford fire station at 435 High Street; he confronted Ross who quickly ran off, police said.

King looked inside his Jeep and found the inside of the car covered with blood. He called police, who searched the car and also found a blood-soaked Red Sox hat, according to the report written by Sgt. Cesar De Latorre.

A Police K-9 unit tracked the scent from the cap through an alley to Blake Street and to a Chevy van parked outside Espresso Plus at 85 Commercial St.

Like King's Jeep, the van's passenger compartment was also saturated with blood, De Latorre wrote.

The scent continued to Linden Street, near Export Towing, where a tow operator told the officers that several vehicles were broken into and "covered with blood," the report said. A total of six vehicles were broken into at the tow company's main lot.

Officer on Detail Spots Suspect in Liquor Store

Meanwhile, Officer Sheila Quinn, working a detail at Kappy's Liquors at Wellington Circle, spotted Ross in the store about 10 p.m and matched him to a description provided by firefighters at the West Medford station.

Ross refused to cooperate with police so they brought King and Stephen Pinette - another fire fighter who saw Ross near King's Jeep - to Kappy's for an improvised police line-up.

Two Kappy's employees volunteered to help police by lining up next to Ross in front of a police cruiser. Both King and Pinette identified Ross as the man who was near King's Jeep earlier, police said.

A Kappy's worker told police she saw Ross pull up to the store in a Massachusetts Highway Department roadside assistance van, which was still parked and idling in the store's parking lot, the police report said.

Police ran the van's plates and found it was owned and operated by Export Towing, the report said.

Ross was arrested Saturday and arraigned Monday morning in Somerville District Court, where his bail was set at $10,000. He is expected to appear in court next on August 17.