Police Arrest Man Suspected of Numerous City Break-Ins

In an example of good old-fashioned police work, Newport Police brought charges against a 53-year-old Middletown man for an alleged string of break-ins at area businesses starting in late December.

Police charged Paul Anthony Marshall, of 18 Namquid Drive, Middletown, with three counts of attempted breaking and entering, two counts of felony breaking and entering and a charge of vandalism on Tuesday, capping off an investigation that had them reviewing hours of surveillance footage to piece together a picture of the man they were looking for.

Police say between Dec. 31 and this week, Marshall broke or tried to break into Portobello Jewelers, House of Windsor, Platinum House, and Ritrex Camera.

During the course of the investigation, detectives used surveillance videos from several businesses to develop an idea of what the suspect looked like and noticed that he was wearing the same clothing. They also were able to identify a white Dodge van, and later, a Toyota sedan that was used in the incidents.

It was that van that drew officers to the St. Mary parking lot, where officers came upon it one day during the course of their investigation. It had damage that appeared to match damage seen in the security footage. 

Using the owner registration from the van, Newport detectives soon were able to see that Marshall had been pawning jewelry to pawn shops in Connecticut.

Later, Middletown officers spotted the van outside a house on Stockton Drive and officers peered inside and saw gloves and pry bars that appeared to be similar to tools Marshall was seen using on the security footage.

Police eventually stopped Marshall shortly after an incident as he was driving the gray Toyota that police had seen on the security video. Police said he was wearing the same clothes used in the break-ins.

Marshall appeared in Second Division District Court on Feb. 4. He was released on personal recognizance and told not to go near any of the businesses he's suspected of breaking into.