Man Stealing from Cars in Tiverton Caught by Resident Awake at 3 a.m.

TIVERTON, RI—Tiverton police officers regularly tell residents to give the department a call if they see something suspicious, like an unfamiliar person walking down a residential street or a car with out-of-state plates.

But criminals often prowl late at night and in the early morning hours while most people are sleeping.

That tactic didn't work for Cody Amaral, 23, of Fall River, MA, police say: a resident of Beech Avenue made the call at around 3 a.m. after seeing what looked like a man attempting to enter a car in his driveway.

Amaral was found a short time later on Beech Avenue. It turns out that the car he was driving was reported stolen out of his home city. He was also carrying narcotics he stole from a car. After a brief investigation, police concluded that he has been stealing from cars in the area.

Amaral appeared in Newport County District Court on Friday and is facing charges of narcotics possession, larceny of a controlled substance, three counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, five counts of larceny and driving on a revoked license.

Court records show Amaral will return to court on Sept. 8 for an attorney general screening conference.