News

Suspect stole police laptop as officers broke up a party

By Mike Stucka
Staff writer
Published: July 1, 2008

TOPSFIELD — While police officers were trying to round up some 50 youths at a party Saturday, someone snuck into a police cruiser and stole its laptop computer, police Chief Evan Haglund said yesterday.

Haglund said the department is still investigating the 1 a.m. party and plans to summon at least 23 people to court on charges including underage possession of alcohol, furnishing alcohol to minors and disturbing the peace. No one has yet been charged in the theft of the laptop, which was recovered, undamaged, several hours later.

"That's under investigation, but we have a suspect," Haglund said.

Three Topsfield police officers and officers from Ipswich and Wenham found more than 50 youths at the Aaron Drive home, some of whom were underage and drinking. At least half the crowd scattered, leading officers to call for a state police K-9 team that found some more youths in Klock Park, a couple of blocks away.

Haglund said that while officers were trying to get everybody together, someone entered the police cruiser to steal the laptop.

Officers were trying to quickly process the suspects.

"It's a very chaotic scene, situations like that," Haglund said. "So the best thing to do is get names, get address, get the evidence collected."

Haglund refused to release the house address or say who hosted the parties. He said the department would list the suspects and the charges when they're arraigned in Ipswich District Court in Newburyport, likely in about three weeks.

Perhaps 19 or 20 of the people being summoned to court were younger than 21, he said. No one resisted the police officers.

"They were very cooperative at the scene. It's just an unfortunate situation, and these types of parties sometimes get a little bit carried away," Haglund said.