SALISBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - A wanted Worcester man who was found hiding in some bushes in Salisbury on Tuesday was arrested in connection with a string of break-ins after police linked shirt buttons and evidence on his boots to a pair of crime scenes in the town, officials said.
Officers responding to a reported break-in on Pike Street around 12:30 p.m. spoke with witnesses who said they saw a man in a gray shirt kick in the rear door of a home in the neighborhood, according to the Salisbury Police Department.
Police say the suspect, later identified as 60-year-old John T. Hughes, fled the scene with stolen money.
Less than an hour later, officers responding to a report of a suspicious man peering into cars, garages, and boats on Main Street found Hughes hiding in some bushes.
Hughes, who was said to be wearing a grey shirt with several missing buttons and in possession of more than $2,000 in cash, was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant.
Just before 4 p.m., officers were then called to a home on Main Street, where they learned someone had crawled through a rear bathroom window.
Police say detectives found two sections of shirt buttons on the floor, which were later matched to the buttons on Hughes’ shirt.
Evidence found on Hughes’ boots links him to the break-in on Pike Street, according to investigators. At this time, he is said to be a “strong person of interest” in the incident.
Hughes is slated to be arraigned Wednesday in Newburyport District Court on charges including breaking and entering and larceny.
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