Burlington man arrested for breaking into Somerville home of sunbathing woman he ogled from driveway the week before

SOMERVILLE — On Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, at approximately 2:40 a.m., Officer Daniel Haley of the Somerville Police Department was dispatched to the residence located at 41 Russell Street following a report of a breaking and entering in progress.

Officers Richard Lavey and Eric O’Brien responded as backup.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from a summary of the incident written by Officer Haley in the Somerville Police Department’s weekly arrest log and do not reflect any political or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

While en route, Officer Haley said dispatch informed him that the reporting party said that the man who broke in was still inside the residence, walking around downstairs.

As he pulled up to 41 Russell Street, Officer Haley said he saw a man through the large front windows of the residence stand up and walk away from him in the opposite direction. The officer got out of his cruiser, walked to the side of the house, and entered through an open sliding door connected to the deck.

“Upon entering, I announced myself as a police officer and saw a white male, later identified as Patrick Clark, coming up a flight of stairs from the floor below,” Officer Haley said. “I ordered Mr. Clark to show me his hands to which he complied. I asked Mr. Clark if he lived in the home to which he stated ‘no.’ I placed Mr. Clark in handcuffs for my safety and escorted him outside onto the deck.”

According to police, Patrick Joseph Clark, 36, is a resident of 22 Douglas Avenue, Burlington, MA.

Officer Lavey took control of Clark while Officer Haley re-entered the residence to speak with the reporting party.

The reporting party stated that she had been asleep when she was awakened by the sound of someone entering the house. She called downstairs, thinking her daughter had come home late, but a male voice responded. The reporting party then locked herself in the bedroom and called 911.

Officer Haley then went outside and spoke with Clark.

Officer Haley asked Clark what he was doing in the house in the middle of the night, to which Clark replied that he had no “good excuse” for being there. According to Officer Haley, Clark then stated that he lived in Burlington and had been out in Harvard Square earlier in the night, but “somehow just ended up at the house.”

“Mr. Clark claimed he did not know anyone in the house, knew he did not live there, and knew it was the middle of the night,” Officer Haley said. “I asked Mr. Clark several times why he was inside but his only answers were to the effect of he ‘f*cked up’ and he was an ‘idiot’ and a ‘douchebag.’”

Officer Haley spoke with the reporting party again. She told the officer that she sometimes leaves the slider door, as well as the basement door of her residence unlocked.

Officer Haley then showed a photo of Clark to the reporting party who stated that she had never seen him before but recalled something her daughter told her a week ago.

“According to [the reporting party], [her daughter] called her last week, frantic, stating she was sunbathing in the backyard in a bathing suit when she saw a male staring at her down the driveway,” Officer Haley said. “[The reporting party] said that [her daughter] told her initially the male walked away when [she] noticed him, but then returned to the base of the driveway shortly after and continued to stare at her.”

The reporting party said that when the man returned to the base of the driveway, her daughter went inside the house and called her, asking her to come home. Officer Haley stated that the reporting party’s daughter was not home during the break-in that evening, so police were unable to confirm whether Clark was the person who was ogling her from the driveway the previous week.

“Officer Lavey reported to me that when I initially brought Mr. Clark outside, he had asked him why he was in the house and Mr. Clark responded with something to the effect of ‘I wasn’t filming her or anything,’” Officer Haley said.

Clark was then transported to the Somerville Police Department for booking. He was charged with burglary (unarmed).

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