4 nabbed in West Boylston cell tower break-in, cable theft


  • Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    WEST BOYLSTON — 4 men were arrested on Friday after allegedly breaking into a cell tower and stealing cable, according to the West Boylston Police Department.

    The incident occurred around 3:15 p.m. at the West Boylston cell tower located on Lawrence Street. Officers Kyle Santoro and Sgt. Rick Petit responded to an alarm and discovered 2 cars with New York registrations.

    The officers also found 4 individuals wearing hard hats and work gear, one of whom was climbing the tower. The group claimed to be subcontractors for T-Mobile tasked with decommissioning 3G coax cable. However, they failed to produce any work orders or paperwork to support their claims.

    Further inspection revealed that the cell tower office door had been forcibly opened, and cables were cut both inside the office and on the tower itself. A representative from Verizon confirmed that the work had not been authorized, highlighting an ongoing issue of cable theft at various cell towers in the area, allegedly for sale as scrap.

    The suspects — identified as Tajpaul Moses, 32; Yuvraj Moses, 31; Huckomchan Ramjiawan, 26; all from Schenectady, N.Y., and Kevon Alvin Roberts, 24, from Queens, N.Y. — were charged with breaking and entering a building during the daytime for a felony, larceny over $1200, vandalism, possession of burglary tools and trespassing.

    All 4 were held without bail over the weekend at the Worcester County House of Correction, pending their arraignment on Monday, March 4th at Clinton District Court.

    The West Boylston Police Department, assisted by officers from Holden, Sterling and Boylston, reports that similar crimes have occurred at other cell towers across New England. The investigation, led by Detective Mitchell Rogers, continues as law enforcement works to address this regional problem.

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