'Nice try': South End resident faces off with would-be-burglar

BOSTON — A longtime South End resident was working from home Tuesday when she heard a smash and came face-to-face with a would-be burglar.

Jeanne Pelletier said she’s not sure where she got the courage to face this head-on, but she’s glad she did.

“It was deafening. He had a rock, a big boulder… he was smashing through our door,” she said. “[I] just ran out of the house barefoot, I confronted him on the street, said ‘nice try.’”

Pelletier’s husband was home at the time, but that was little comfort.

“I started screaming I think he heard the screaming, so he started running,” she said.

As Pelletier was on the phone with 911, the suspect slowed down to a walking pace, in what she believes was an attempt to not seem like a suspicious criminal on the run.

But thanks to a nearby Good Samaritan, the suspect didn’t get far.

“This bystander helped me, which was classic South End too, that he saw something was going on and watched the guy,” Pelletier said.

The passerby-turned-witness watched the intruder walk onto a nearby Silver Line MBTA bus on Washington Street. Thankfully, Pelletier said, police responded right away.

Officers stopped the bus and quickly moved on board to arrest the suspect.

“[It was] classic South End neighborliness that somebody was willing to help right away,” she said.

The suspect was identified and taken into custody with the help of Pelletier’s spot on description and footage from a neighbor’s surveillance system.

“That’s the way it works around here, you’re not going to get a chance,” she said.

Pelletier is applauding Boston police for their quick and urgent response.

The suspect, 23-year-old Joseph Oliveira of Brighton, was arrested. Police reportedly also discovered a stolen credit card that was linked to a stolen wallet from a separate South End incident.

Boston Police said it’s unclear if Oliveira could be linked to other recent crimes in the area.

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