Thursday, 4:30 PM
Possible break seen in town hall break-in case
By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff
Two men charged with breaking into town halls in two New Hampshire communities are being eyed as possible suspects in a string of similar crimes in more than a dozen rural towns in central and western Massachusetts, police said.
Justin Douglas, 26, of Springfield and David Heck, 32, of Westfield were charged Friday with breaking into town offices in Hillsborough and in nearby Windsor, N.H. They are being held in lieu of $300,000 bail, Hillsborough police said in a statement.
Both men have also been "identified as persons of interest in a series of burglaries of government offices throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut," the statement said.
Hillsborough police said they were working on the case with the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut state police.
In Massachusetts, state police assigned to the Sturbridge barracks have been working with local police to solve a series of burglaries from town offices and churches, in which thieves have stolen computers, cash and vandalism.
