Haverhill Police arrested two men from Atkinson and Haverhill after a holiday package theft on Thursday, Nov. 30. (Courtesy photographs)
Haverhill Police issued a festive but firm warning after a concerned neighbor alerted them to package thefts in the Cedar Street section of the city.
Following the incident, which went viral when the department shared it on social media, Haverhill’s Nicholas Parker, 20, and Atkinson’s Brandon Carroll, 25, were arrested and charged with larceny and trespassing. They were taken into custody after fleeing into the woods near Hilldale Cemetery. Carroll had a green folding knife in his possession that was used to open the packages of clothing and toys.
Officer Guy Cooper was first on the scene of the Cedar Street package theft.
Cribbing from Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” for their retelling, police said that the neighbor who reported the incident followed the men until officers could respond. Officer Guy Cooper was first on the scene at 174 Cedar St., backed up by eight colleagues.
“Twas the month before Christmas, when somewhere in the City, two men were stirring, about to act very silly. Packages were being placed at houses with care, in hopes that upon the owner’s return, the items would still be there. The items were taken by two men who thought they had nothing to fear, both unaware that an alert neighbor was near,” the poem read in part.
Officer Ryan Connolly, who also maintains the department’s Facebook presence, assisted during the call and worked with Officer Dan Trocki to craft the Christmas poem. As Connolly tells WHAV, his post achieved the department’s goal of keeping the community informed regardless of the headline.
(Click the player link above to hear Officer Connolly recite the holiday tale.)
“When we have stuff like this that gives people a laugh, a happy story, they see the other stuff we want to post,” Connolly said. “We had a water main break today on a road, (followers) see that. This weekend, we just had the Christmas Stroll that closes down a major street for the whole day. People saw that. We have nearly 18,000 followers now. We’re a small city in the Merrimack Valley so that’s pretty good.”
Both Parker and Carroll were also charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct when they were taken into custody Thursday.