Michael Davis, of Plymouth, in a March 4, 2019 booking photo. (Photo courtesy Hanover Police Department)
The copper thief who targeted Plympton as well as other South Shore towns has been arrested thanks in part to the investigation by Plympton Police Department’s Sergeant Brian Cranshaw
Hanover police arrested Michael Davis, 47, of 27 Beaver Dam Road, Plymouth, on Monday, March 4. He was arraigned in Hingham District Court the next day on charges of breaking and entering a building in the nighttime for a felony, destruction of property, and possession of a burglarious instrument, according to court records.
The alleged copper thief was apprehended as part of a multidepartment investigation and surveillance operation that included Sergeant Brian Cranshaw, of the Plympton Police Department, as part of the Old Colony Police Anti-Crime Unit, police reports said.
Davis is suspected in multiple home break-ins across the South Shore. He allegedly breaks into homes that are listed for sale, and after ensuring they are empty, goes into the basement and cuts out all the copper piping.
Investigators applied for and were granted a warrant for a GPS-tracking device for Davis’s car, after growing suspicious of him, a source familiar with the investigation said.
This led police to the Hanover location where they found Davis inside a Broadway Street home listed for sale in the act of cutting copper pipes in the basement, where they confronted him.
Davis ran off into the woods, but police were able to track him down and arrest him.
He pleaded not guilty in front of Judge Heather Bradley and posted $250 cash bail. He must stay away from the alleged victim and out of the Town of Hanover as part of his pre-trial probation conditions. Weymouth-based attorney Christopher Affsa was appointed by the court to represent Davis.
He is scheduled to be back in Hingham District Court May 1, 2019, for a pre-trial hearing.