By Jim Clark

A Somerville 911 operator received an emergency call last Thursday from someone reporting that a man unknown to him had just exited his home carrying a grocery style paper bag filled with copper pipes.

Police officers were dispatched to the home on Evergreen Avenue, currently unoccupied and undergoing renovations. Inspection of the residence revealed many broken and cut water pipes, with water spilling from several pipes all over the basement floor. A window near the front porch had the front screen cut and it appeared that the intruder gained access to the home from there.

The alleged pipe thief was reportedly spotted by witnesses as he ran from the residence and then placed the pipes inside of his vehicle before speeding away on Sycamore Street, police said. Witnesses were able to provide the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle.

The suspect’s vehicle was later located parked at a residence on Albion Street and responding officers spotted three individuals, one man and two women, sitting on the back porch of the home, police said. As the group was questioned, police officers reportedly found a bag containing copper pipes hidden under the porch where they had previously been sitting.

Witnesses subsequently identified the man, Keith Richardson, 25, of Belmont, as the individual seen running with the pipes from the home on Evergreen Avenue.

Richardson was placed under arrest and charged with destruction of property over $250 and larceny from a building.