Woman Scares Off Man Stealing Her Car: Newton Police

NEWTON, MA ― A woman came back to her car parked in the drugstore lot on Watertown Street to find a man she didn't know in the driver's seat, her steering column pulled apart in what appeared to be an attempt to steal her car. When she confronted him, he ran off. She watched which way he went and called police.

After a chase that involved a bicycle, the K9 unit and State Police, a trooper found the man face down, covered in dirt under a board hidden near a shed in the area.

Police arrested John A. Kirk, 48, homeless, and charged him with breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny of a motor vehicle (maliciously injuring vehicle, maliciously injuring or destroying a vehicle belonging to another person), receiving stolen property (a green Huffy Trail bicycle). He also had a default warrant out of Roxbury court.

According to police, a woman reported that just before 5 p.m. on Ag. 13, she came out of 999 Watertown Street and headed to her 2003 Ford Expedition. When she got there, she found a man sitting in the driver's seat. She later told police he responded to her question of what she was doing, but police redacted that in a report. He ran up Watertown street toward Washington Street.

When police arrived they found the SUV's steering column was ripped apart exposing wires in what appeared to be an attempt to steal the Ford. Police said the middle console and the glove box had both been rummaged through, but the woman told police it didn't look like anything was missing aside from the cover for the steering wheel console. She told police she hadn't locked her car that day.

The woman described the man to police, who searched the area, and asked nearby businesses if they'd seen him, called in a K9, and ultimately pulled surveillance footage and were able to see a man matching the woman's description standing near her car. Shortly after, police spotted a man that matched that description around the corner on Washington Street sitting next to a bicycle.

When the man saw the police eyeing him, he jumped on the bike and rode down Washington Street, according to police. Farther down Washington Street, police said he turned and rode behind a cleaners and dumped the bike.

Police said they set up a perimeter from Walker St to Brooks Avenue from Washington Street to Watertown Street, called in the K9 again and State Police. Troopers searching the area heard a rustling noise and saw movement and what appeared to be a foot sticking out from under a board.

It turned out to be Kirk, police said.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).