Fairhaven Man Charged In Connection With Tewksbury Crime Spree

TEWKSBURY, MA —A Fairhaven man was arrested in Plymouth Thursday and returned to Tewksbury, where he was charged in connection with a crime spree earlier in the week in that town, the Tewksbury Police Department said.

John Mueller, 36, was charged with two counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime, a felony, two counts of larceny from a building, larceny of a motor vehicle, four counts of vandalizing property, breaking and entering into a boat/vehicle for a misdemeanor, and attempting to burn a building.

Mueller was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Lowell District Court.

According to the TPD, at 2:45 p.m. Monday, officers responded to the report of a break-in at a business on Lorum Street.

During the investigation, officers learned that multiple tools and business items had been stolen from the business the previous day, according to Tewksbury police.

The TPD said its officers also learned that the Tewksbury Fire Department had responded to a box alarm fire at the business early Tuesday morning. The TFD had to extinguish multiple fires, the department said.

Additionally, the investigation revealed that other businesses in the area had been burglarized and that a truck had been stolen, according to the TPD. The truck was later recovered in Salem, New Hampshire with the help of the Salem Police Department, the TPD said.

Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation, the TPD said it was able to identify Mueller as a suspect.

Tewksbury police said that on Thursday, the department learned that Mueller had been in contact with law enforcement agencies in Plymouth County on an unrelated matter.

At that point, Plymouth police arrested the suspect.

"I want to commend our officers for their professionalism in this case," Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus said. "This arrest is a direct result of their thorough hard work."