Man arrested, charged in Easthampton car breaks

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - A Holyoke man was arrested Saturday night after he was allegedly seen burgling a number of unlocked cars on Treehouse Circle, police said.

Hector Casanova, 21, pleaded innocent Monday in Northampton District Court to charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, attempting to commit a crime, four counts of breaking and entering a vehicle during the nighttime for a felony and two counts of possessing stolen property.

According to Police Chief Bruce McMahon, at 10:45 p.m., a 17 Treehouse Circle resident called police after she awoke to her dogs barking and saw a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt using a flashlight to go though a row of unlocked vehicles parked outside her home.

After shouting at the man from her window, the witness told police he quickly left the scene in a dark four-door sedan and that several items, including a GPS device, were found to be missing from two of the cars parked outside, according to court documents.

Soon after, McMahon said police issued a city-wide look out notice for anyone matching the witness's description and at 11:45 p.m., officer Jeff Fish spotted Casanova's black Suzuki sedan turning onto Sandra Road.

When Fish attempted to catch up to the car he reported that Casanova sped away, turned off his headlights and pulled into a driveway on Golden Drive.

After calling for backup, McMahon said Fish approached the vehicle and asked Casanova if he knew the owners of the home he was parked in front of. Casanova reportedly told Fish that he was lost and was looking for a man named Bill Crosby, but could not offer an address.

After spotting a loose GPS device in the back seat of Casanova's car, Fish placed him under arrest for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. A further search of the vehicle revealed another GPS device under the front passenger seat and a red flashlight, according to court documents.

When told he was being charged with breaking into four vehicles on Treehouse Circle, Casanova allegedly told Sgt. Bruce Nicol that he had "only broken into two cars there, not four."

Judge Richard J. Carey ordered Casanova released on his own recognizance and scheduled him to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 18.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.