Fall River man arrested on charges of breaking and entering, identity fraud and credit card fraud

STOUGHTON — Chief Donna McNamara reports that the Stoughton Police Department arrested a Fall River man on charges of breaking and entering, identity fraud and credit card fraud following an investigation into an April break-in at a local business.

On Sunday, April 20, at approximately 8:21 p.m., Stoughton Police responded to a business at 95 Sharon St. to take a report regarding a past break-in.

Stoughton Police Detective Kevin Lima began an investigation and reviewed video surveillance footage that showed a suspect inside the restaurant at 3:32 a.m. on April 20. It was determined that a business credit card was stolen during the break-in.

Through its investigation, Stoughton Police determined that the credit card was used seven times at ATMs and businesses in Fall River, Seekonk and Swansea in Massachusetts, and East Providence and Tiverton in Rhode Island. The transactions and withdrawals ranged from $32.33 to $544.87.

The investigation revealed that the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Mark Smith, was a former employee who had not worked there for years.

Stoughton Police obtained a search warrant for Smith’s residence in Fall River and Detectives executed it at about 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7, with assistance from the Fall River Police Department. Smith was taken into custody without incident, and police recovered clothing items consistent with those worn during the crimes.

Smith was charged with Breaking and Entering During the Nighttime with Intent to Commit a Felony, Identity Fraud (7 counts), and Credit Card Fraud (7 counts).

Smith is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Stoughton District Court.

“This was a thorough weeks-long investigation that included obtaining and reviewing surveillance video from multiple locations and applying for and executing a search warrant,” Chief McNamara said. “I commend our Detectives for their rigorous investigation, which led to the identification of the suspect and linked the break-in to numerous instances of identity and credit card fraud.”

These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.