HAVERHILL — Police are warning residents to be careful about who they hire to shovel snow from their driveways, after several such offers last weekend resulted in thousands of dollars in jewelry being stolen.
Deputy Chief Donald Thompson said a man described as middle-aged and light-skinned, who is not clean shaven, approached three women at their homes on Main, Mill and Chestnut streets Saturday with offers to shovel snow from their driveways for a fee.
Thompson said the suspect returned to the homes of two of the women, who were not home at the time, kicked in rear or cellar doors, and stole an estimated $10,000 in jewelry from them.
"They may pawn it, bring it to a fence or trade it for drugs," Thompson said of the stolen items.
A third woman managed to scare off the thief after she heard him trying to kick in her kitchen door.
"At this point we don't know how many homes he may have approached, but these were all within the same area of the city," Thompson said.
Police were first notified on Saturday by a woman on Mill Street, who paid a man to shovel snow early that morning.
The man returned to the home later and tried to kick in a kitchen door but was scared off by the woman, who heard what was happening.
Monday, a woman who lives on Main Street told police a man had come to her home on Saturday and offered to shovel her driveway, but she declined. Police said the woman's home was broken into on Monday while the woman was not at home and that jewelry was taken.
Police said the woman's description of the man matched the suspect in the first report.
Also Monday, a woman on Chestnut Street told police that on Saturday she paid a man to shovel her driveway. Police said the woman left for the weekend, and on Monday discovered her house had been broken into and jewelry was missing.
"What is common to each break is before they occurred the resident was approached by a white, middle-age man who offered to shovel their driveway for a fee," Thompson said. "We want to let the public know that detectives are working on this case."
Anyone with information about the man, or has been approached by a suspicious person offering to shovel snow, is asked to call Sgt. Brian Proulx at 978-373-1212, ext. 549.
"There are a lot of people going around to shovel during storms,'' Thompson said.
"If you don't know the person, and you are suspicious, call the police."
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