After a string of break-ins in the Watertown Square area, Watertown Police caught their suspect in the act this week.
Churches and a restaurant reported being broken into and having cash and valuables stolen over the prior week. Watertown Police got a break in the case when one of the places broken into caught the suspect on surveillance video, said Police Lt. Michael Lawn.
They recognized the man on the video as Wilbert Stith, a 51-year-old homeless man, who has been seen in the area recently. On Sept. 24, police were on the lookout for Stith and about 11:15 p.m. on that day they saw him getting off an MBTA bus in Watertown Square.
They observed him hiding in bushes along Church Street, then he met with another man behind Town Hall. Later that night, Stith was seen near the the Watertown Free Public Library, and a short time later police received a report of a burglar alarm from the library.
“After an extensive search Stith was found hiding behind a couch in the library,” Lawn said.
Stith was arrested on three counts of breaking and entering – two for a break-in at the First Parish Church and one for the library break in; two counts of possession of burglarious tools, and larceny from a building, Lawn said.
Police are investigating whether Stith also committed several other break-ins in the Watertown Square area, Lawn said.