Housebreaks up; police seek one man

Patrick Wiswall 

An upsurge in housebreaks has police on the lookout for suspects.
Since late March, Revere has logged 62 housebreaks or attempted housebreaks throughout the city, which is a bit higher than normal. This past week alone, there were 10 breaks. Nevertheless, Revere’s breaks are low as compared other cities such as Boston, which logged 64 breaks just within the last week.
Police said the upward trend does have them more vigilant.
“In regards to housebreaks, there has been a spike recently,” said Capt. Dennis Collyer. “We arrested one man a few weeks back and the trend seemed to slow down temporarily. He is back out on bail now.”
Collyer said that they have identified two men for a break in Beachmont and are seeking their arrest.
Already, police arrested one of the men, Eric Cuppernell, 19, of Medford, last week. The other man, Patrick Wiswall, of Chelsea, is still being sought.
“We obtained warrants for their arrest for a break in Beachmont and one other city also obtained warrants for the same two men for a break in their jurisdiction,” said Collyer.
Wiswall is well known to authorities.
A few years back he led Revere Police and State Police on a high-speed chase in the Broadway area, eventually abandoning his vehicle and escaping. A few days later he surfaced in Foxboro, where he fled from police there as well. At one point, he ran across Interstate 95 and caused a very serious accident when drivers tried to avoid hitting him.
He was, however, arrested.
Now, police are seeking him and any other individuals who may be responsible for the spike in breaks. Neighbors are asked to be vigilant in locking their doors and in reporting suspicious persons to police.
Chief Terence Reardon said the problem is a cyclical one that tends to revolve around drug use.
“I don’t think breaks are so much on the rise, but it’s just how they play out,” he said. “What usually happens is addicts get out of jail or rehab and they begin breaking into houses. It takes us a while to identify them an put a stop to it, but in the mean time they tend to be pretty active.”
He said he is confident that the number of breaks will soon decline as police identify all the perpetrators. In Revere, the average number of breaks per week is around five.