BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — Police have arrested a man they say broke into people’s homes in Massachusetts while they attended wakes or funerals.
Authorities say they began to suspect 35-year-old Randy Brunelle during an investigation into a series of break-ins on Cape Cod. Brunelle previously had served an 18-month prison sentence on a 2012 conviction for breaking into a police officer’s home as the officer attended his mother’s funeral.
Barnstable police say they followed his car Friday while other officers went to homes of residents attending funerals.
Officers discovered a break-in and pulled Brunelle over. Police say they arrested him after finding jewelry in his pockets.
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Brunelle, who police nicknamed the “obit bandit,” is facing multiple charges including felony breaking and entering. The Cape Cod Times reports that he ignored a reporter’s questions while entering court for his arraignment Monday.