LYNN — A Gloucester man who police said went on a Christmas morning break-in and theft spree in Swampscott was ordered held on $10,000 bail Thursday.
Dante W. Diodati, 27, admitted to police, according to a report filed in court, that he broke into at least “‘seven or eight'” vehicles on Mostyn Street, Bellevue Road, Clark Road and Beach Bluff Avenue and stole a television and Xbox from a garage.
A police report filed in District Court quoted Diodati as saying he uses the addiction treatment drug Suboxone and stated that Diodati, following an interview with Swampscott police, wrote a statement ‘apologizing for his actions and taking the items he did especially on (c)hristmas and how it greatly affected many families.’
He was charged with larceny over $1,200, larceny from a building, breaking and entering nighttime, felony, possession of burglarious instruments, malicious destruction and motor vehicle breaking and entering. Assistant District Attorney Lynsey Legiere said Diodati’s court record covers 14 pages.
“He has a lengthy history of breaking into vehicles and larceny charges,” Legiere said.
Judge Ina Howard-Hogan assigned Diodati bail and ordered him to not use alcohol or illegal drugs and to stay away from property owners listed in police reports detailing the break ins. She also revoked pre-release conditions associated with a case Diodati has pending in Peabody District Court.
Swampscott police found Diodati sitting in a gray SUV on Eulow Street at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday moments after a Mostyn Street resident spotted a man matching Diodati’s description inside her husband’s truck.
Diodati’s attorney, Kevin Chapman, asked Howard-Hogan to set $1,000 bail and said a bail warning was not properly given to Diodati. The judge ordered Diodati to return to court on January 23 for a pre-trial hearing.
