Saugus man arrested for breaking and entering, punches cop in jail

SAUGUS – A young Saugus man punched a detective three times and was pepper sprayed inside his jail cell Friday because he was upset that a $2,500 bail was set for his arrest on breaking and entering, police said.Shawn DiBartolomeo, 20, of 399 Lincoln Ave., was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, attempted breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property and resisting arrest shortly after 11:30 p.m.At his arraignment Monday in Lynn District Court, prosecutors said DiBartolomeo began banging his head against the cell door, swore and threatened to stab an officer after he was informed of his high bail amount.Detective Jim Donovan entered the cell to calm him down but was instead allegedly pushed against the wall by the suspect and punched three times in the stomach.Sgt. David Gecoya punched DiBartolomeo once in the shoulder to get him away from Donovan, police said, and handcuffed him for a few minutes until he calmed down.DiBartolomeo, who police said was likely intoxicated, allegedly acted up again before Gecoya sprayed a small amount of pepper spray into the cell. DiBartolomeo was not charged with assaulting an officer.The reason the suspect was arrested was because he was positively identified as the person who smashed a glass door and broke into S. James and Company store at 43 Jackson St. Employees working late at a neighboring business allegedly heard a smash and saw DiBartolomeo climb through the glass door and walk away.DiBartolomeo matched the same description as the suspect who, a few minutes earlier, was caught breaking into a parked car at 33 Birch St.Detective Fred Forni was working in plain clothes and in an unmarked car that night solely to look for the person who was responsible for a string of recent burglaries to Cliftondale Square businesses.