Man Charged in Two Early‑August Break-Ins in Jamaica Plain

Overview

• Boston police arrested 37-year-old Michael Smith of Hyde Park on Aug. 17 and charged him with aggravated breaking and entering in the daytime for two Heath Street incidents earlier in August.
• In the first incident, a 22-year-old Emerson College student woke to an intruder on Aug. 2 who shone a flashlight, lunged at her and fled; her apartment had been rummaged through but no major items were ultimately missing.
• The second break-in occurred just before 7 a.m. on Aug. 5 when a man climbed through a bedroom window at 182 Heath St., tried to pull a sleeping resident's blanket and then fled through the window.
• Detectives linked the two incidents and recovered items initially thought stolen after finding them tossed in another room, and police had previously asked the public for help identifying the suspect but have not said if a tip produced the arrest.
• The arrest brings the case to Roxbury District Court for arraignment and may ease local safety concerns as investigators and prosecutors decide whether to seek pretrial detention or other restrictions.