TEWKSBURY — Two men from New Hampshire are facing charges in Tewksbury and Andover after they allegedly broke into a Tewksbury home before getting arrested by Andover police as they attempted to escape.
Tewksbury Police Chief Timothy Sheehan said police were called to a home on William G. Drive when a resident came home and noticed a suspicious vehicle in his driveway. That homeowner, who later confirmed his house had been broken into, followed the vehicle into Andover, according to Sheehan.
Andover police said in a press release that an officer patrolling on Lowell Street in Andover noticed a car driving in the middle of the road while passing other vehicles, and stopped the car on Haggetts Pond Road.
The homeowner from Tewksbury then stopped and informed the Andover officer that he had been following the vehicle from his home, according to Andover police.
Andover police said they found heroin in that vehicle, and arrested the driver, Brandon Simmons, 28, of Seabrook, N.H.
At about the same time, Andover police also got a report of a man running through backyards in the area of Bellevue and Osgood streets.
Andover police requested a canine unit to help find that man, and a Wilmington police canine named Ridic tracked that man to a shed in the area where he was hiding, according to police. Andover police said that man, identified as Keith Babcock, 33, of Seabrook, N.H., was also found with heroin.
Sheehan said both men were eventually linked to the housebreak in Tewksbury, and that Tewksbury detectives obtained arrest warrants charging both men with breaking and entering daytime, malicious destruction of property over $250, and larceny over $250.
Andover police additionally charged Simmons with possession of heroin, possession of burglary tools, operating to endanger and a marked-lanes violation, according to police.
Andover police additionally charged Babcock with possession of heroin and breaking and entering daytime.
Both men were held by Andover police Tuesday night. They were to be arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence District Court.
Andover police said Babcock was also wanted on warrants from Ayer and Newburyport, and that they are working with six other local police departments who believe Simmons and Babcock may be connected to incidents in others towns.
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