LAWRENCE — Police said it didn't take convicted car burglar Victor Delgado long to return to his old ways.
Car breaks have gone up 70 percent in the city since Delgado got out of jail nearly two weeks ago, according to a police memo prepared yesterday after Delgado's latest arrest.
"It was no surprise to officers on the scene" that the suspect arrested yesterday afternoon for a car break across the street from City Hall was Delgado, Patrolman Kevin Schiavone noted in his report.
Delgado, 32, of 79 Haverhill St., third floor, Lawrence, was charged with receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct.
"Given his arrest history, one would wonder why this guy is still out on the street," Lawrence police Chief John Romero said last night.
"We want the court to be aware of this guy and what he's been involved in. Hopefully, it will have an impact," said Romero, who requested his department prepare an impact statement to be presented at Delgado's arraignment in Lawrence District Court today.
A police memo about Delgado released yesterday suggested that he's a major reason for the recent jump in car breaks.
"We believe that since 2007 Victor Delgado has been a prolific motor vehicle burglar who accounts for a significant number of our motor vehicle burglaries and MV burglary-related thefts," wrote John Reynolds, director of the department's crime analysis unit.
"For example, in 2008, in the 47 days before (and including) Delgado's arrest for possession of a burglarious instrument (used to shatter MV windows) on 10-23-08, there were 11 MV burglaries within 500 feet of his arrest location (the intersection of Essex Street and Newbury Street)," Reynolds said.
"However, in the 47 days after the date of his arrest, there were 0 MV burglary incidents within 500 feet of this intersection," he wrote.
More recently, in the 12 days including and after Delgado's release from jail (Nov. 12-23), there were 34 car breaks in the city, compared to 20 car breaks reported during the 12-day period prior to Delgado's release from jail, Reynolds' memo noted.
"In other words, MV burglaries increased 70 percent in the 12 days on and after Delgado's release compared to the prior 12-day period when Delgado was incarcerated," Reynolds wrote.
Patrol units had already been briefed — even before yesterday's arrest — to "be on the lookout" for Delgado, who had recently been released from jail and that "he specializes in auto breaks and residential breaks," Schiavone wrote in his report.
That was before the patrolman got a cell phone call from his brother, acting Economic Development Director Thomas Schiavone, who noticed somebody trying to break into a car parked on Common Street across from City Hall.
The car belonged to an attorney who was in Lawrence Superior Court.
Romero credited Thomas Schiavone for the tip that led to Delgado's arrest a short time later.
Police said they saw Delgado toss an item in the open window of the bandstand in Campagnone Common. Police later recovered a Sirius Satellite Radio stolen from another car earlier in the day at Franklin and Lowell streets.
While booking Delgado, police said they found a remote control to the radio in his sweatpants pocket.
