UPDATED: Milford Police Arrest Suspect in 46 Car Break-Ins, Held on $5,000 Bail

Milford Police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of breaking into 46 motor vehicles, after a town resident found fresh footsteps in the snow around his car — which had been rifled through — and called police.

Tyler Ruggiero, 25, of Milford, was arrested and charged with 46 counts of breaking into cars at night, police said, after officers found him less than a half-mile down Mt. Pleasant Street from the first caller's house. A police dog traced his path through the snow, from vehicle to vehicle on Mt. Pleasant Street, according to police.

On Wednesday, in an initial arraignment at Milford District Court, he was ordered held on $5,000 cash or $50,000 surety bail. The arraignment included just one charge, but more are expected to be filed by Monday, when he is scheduled for further arraignment. 

Ruggiero was arraigned Wednesday on a felony charge: breaking and entering into a boat or vehicle in the nighttime for a felony.

In a press release, police said he admitted to breaking into 20 cars overnight, and 40 over the past six weeks. Ruggiero, 25, lives at 17 Green St., Apt. 8, Milford.

Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said Wednesday afternoon the department's detectives now have evidence he was responsible for 47 break-ins. Each charge will have to be documented and filed with the court, he said.

Ruggiero has told detectives he acted alone, O'Loughlin said, but in previous Milford cases, he was arrested with other people. Regardless, O'Loughlin said, residents should continue to lock their car doors at night, and bring in belongings.

"Is he the only one out there doing it? No. Lock your cars," O'Loughlin said.

Milford residents were aware that the town had sent out a reverse 911 call, advising people to lock their car doors, but much of the work of police was not visible to the public.

O'Loughlin said Wednesday he doubled the number of officers working overnight, and said the department had identified Ruggiero as a potential suspect, based on his criminal record. Since 2009, Ruggiero has been arrested seven times, according to Milford District Court records, and as recently as April was convicted of 40 counts of breaking into vehicles in Hopedale.

The break in the string of recent break-ins, which had frustrated and angered residents for more than a month, came when a resident on Mt. Pleasant woke up and looked out the window, and noticed his car's interior light was on.

The initial call was reported at 5:31 a.m.

According to the court statement filed by Officer Robert Pavia, the resident had looked out his window at 5:20 a.m. to check to see how much snow had fallen in the storm Tuesday. He noticed the interior light of his car was on, and went outside to investigate. He noticed footprints in the snow heading down his driveway, and circling the car. Inside, his car had been rummaged through. He called police and said the tracks were fresh.

Responding officers immediately requested a police dog. Once one arrived from Douglas Police, the K-9, named Kyro, tracked the footprints in the snow from the original crime scene, through two additional locations then down Mt. Pleasant to Beach Street, where police located Ruggiero, according to the police.

After officers found him exiting a driveway on Mount Pleasant Street, near Beach Street, they reported finding in his backpack numerous gift cards and a substantial amount of loose change, according to an officer statement filed in court. 

After he was taken into custody, police matched his Adidas sneaker prints to the footprints in the snow left near the cars, police reported. Both were photographed for evidence, according to the court documents.

He consented to a search of his backpack, according to Pavia. Inside, an officer recovered a "large quantity" of loose change and an Apple gift card. In the driveway, officers recovered a black bag and a CVS card. According to police, Ruggiero said he had dropped those items when he saw police responding.

According to Milford District Court records, Ruggiero has been arrested seven times since 2009. In August 2012, he was arrested and charged with breaking and entering a building and destruction of property in Hopedale. His bail was revoked in that case in November 2012, when he was re-arrested in Hopedale, and charged with breaking and entering numerous vehicles on three separate dates.

In April 2013, the cases were resolved when he pleaded guilty to 40 combined counts of breaking and entering for a misdemeanor and larceny under $250, and one count of receiving stolen property.

He was sentenced to one year in jail, with 70 days served for credit, for the larceny plea, and for the breaking-and-entering cases, with the sentences to be served concurrently. 

It was not clear from the records when he was released from jail.