FALL RIVER, MA — Two juveniles face felony charges in connection with a New Year’s Day break-in at a liquor store that mirrored a similar incident at the same location on Thanksgiving.
Police responded to Jay’s Wine and Spirits on President Avenue on January 1 for a reported breaking and entering.
Officers found evidence of forced entry at the rear loading bay and fire exit doors, with visible tool marks and footprints in the snow.
Surveillance footage showed two juvenile males entering through a rear door, stealing multiple bottles of alcohol and several packs of electronic cigarettes before leaving within minutes.
The store had been burglarized on Thanksgiving night, when more than $4,000 in merchandise was stolen.
In that earlier incident, detectives identified two juveniles, ages 16 and 17 at the time, through surveillance footage and traced them to the Fordney Street Housing Development.
The similarities between the two break-ins led investigators to review the prior case.
Surveillance footage from multiple locations showed the same 16-year-old charged in the Thanksgiving incident was involved in the January 1 offense, along with a different 15-year-old male.
Video evidence showed both juveniles leaving their residences shortly before the break-in and returning afterward.
Police executed simultaneous search warrants and seized clothing consistent with what the suspects wore during the offense and an empty bottle matching the stolen merchandise.
Both juveniles face charges of breaking and entering in the nighttime for a felony, larceny from a building and vandalizing property.
The 15-year-old was arrested on January 13.
The 16-year-old later turned himself in to court.
