SOMERVILLE — On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at approximately 7:07 a.m., Officers Joseph Moreira and David Ruf of the Somerville Police Department were dispatched to the Target on 180 Somerville Ave following a report of a larceny.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from a summary of the incident written by Officer Ruf in Somerville Police Department’s weekly arrest log. They do not reflect any political or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
While enroute, dispatch informed the officers that two men carrying televisions were walking down Medford Street heading toward Cambridge.
“I arrived on Medford Street and observed two male parties, later identified as Jama Abdirahman and Parbir Batra, carrying two Vizio TVs in green boxes,” Officer Ruf said.
Parbir Batra, 43, is a resident of 39 Boylston Street in Boston.
Jama Abdirahman, 25, is a resident of 121 Homes Ave in Boston.
“I ordered both individuals to stop, both dropped their TVs and Parbir fled back towards Somerville Ave. Jama slowly walked back towards Somerville Ave and I was able to place him in custody at the intersection of Somerville Ave and Medford Street.”
Officer Moreira located Batra who was hiding in a construction yard nearby.
“A search of Parbir yielded a small pair of cutters that would be consistent with cutting security tags off of items,” Officer Ruf explained.
Officer Ruf then spoke with a loss prevention specialist at Target who said that Batra and Abdirahman came into the store, put two Vizio TVs valued at $361.23 total into a shopping cart, then just walked out of the store in the direction of Medford Street.
“The cart then locked and the suspects then had to carry the TVs on Medford Street and that is when I came in contact with them,” Officer Ruf said.
Abdirahman was charged with Larceny Under $1200.
Batra was charged with Possession of Burglarious Instrument and Larceny Under $1200.
They were transported to the Somerville Police Department where they were booked.
