Saugus man connected to string of burglaries, fraudulent purchases

SAUGUS – Being a good neighbor, Laurel Street resident John Kent banged on his neighbor’s front door late Saturday night after he looked out his window and saw a teenager break into a van parked in a driveway.Little did he know he helped catch a serial burglar.Kent, 50, and the victim, James Foreman, 50, of Avon Street, quickly called police and jumped into Foreman’s van looking for the teenager who had just stolen a DeWalt staple gun, circular saw and a Garmin GPS system worth a total $675, according to a police report.It didn’t take long for the men to come upon the suspect, later identified as Phillip Widener, 18, whose last known address was his mother’s house at 31 Susan Drive, Saugus. Kent said in a written statement to police he immediately recognized Widener as the man who broke into Foreman’s van.They confronted Widener on Mt. Vernon Street, where allegedly tried to run. He sprinted into a neighbor’s backyard holding a bag containing the stolen items, but couldn’t hop the fence, police said. The men detained Widener and called police from a cell phone.The good Samaritan neighbor didn’t know it at the time, but he helped Saugus police catch a man who was later linked to a series of motor vehicle break-ins.Foreman declined comment for this story and Kent could not be reached by phone.As Detective James Donovan investigated the incident he discovered that Widener was the same person seen in surveillance videos at K-Mart, Stop and Shop and Shaw’s in Saugus using credit cards that had been stolen from parked cars around town.In one of the photos, Widener was wearing the same jacket he had on when he was arrested after allegedly breaking into Foreman’s van.Shaw’s even placed a bulletin for employees with a picture showing a person who closely resembles Widener leaving the store after allegedly attempting to purchase $300 in gift cards with a stolen credit card on Jan. 15. An employee immediately recognized Widener as a former Shaw’s employee, police said.Using a credit card that was stolen from a car at 25 Whitney St., Widener allegedly made $425 in fraudulent purchases at K-Mart and an Exxon.Police say Widener had been temporarily living with a woman next door at 24 Whitney St.As they questioned the female resident, police said they found numerous objects in plain view that had been stolen from other neighbors. Among them, a child’s flute that had been stolen from a car at 47 Mt. Vernon St., which is five houses away, and coins, a hammer, small jade pendent, binoculars and a gold bracelet that all belonged to a man at 20 Whitney St. The bracelet had the man’s name inscribed on it, police said.In addition, numerous items including a cell phone, gift cards and digital camera were found that belonged to the original victim, who lived at 25 Whitney.Widener was arrested again on Tuesday and charged with multiple counts of credit card fraud and theft. He was arraigned in Lynn District Court on Wednesday and held on $500 bail.