By George P. Hassett

Two Cambridge men smashed the front door of Downtown Liquors open and helped themselves to 38 scratch tickets and two bottles of rum in the middle of the night Monday.

Police responded to a call for an alarm at Downtown Liquors when they allegedly saw Dean Chaisson, 36, of 240 Albany St., Cambridge, walking away from the store. 

He was 10 feet from the store’s shattered entrance and walking away, police said. Police stopped Chaisson and allegedly found his hands to be covered in fresh blood. Blood could also be found on the broken glass of the liquor store door, police said.

Police placed Chaisson in the cruiser and searched the area surrounding the store. They allegedly found 38 unscratched lottery tickets five feet from where they stopped Chaisson. Chaisson was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime for a felony, malicious destruction of property over $250 and possession of burglarious tools.

Police later met with the store‚Äôs owner and watched the surveillance video of the incident. From watching the video, police learned there was a second thief in the lottery caper. The video allegedly shows two males entering the store. The first male, later identified by police as, Keith D. Hill, 23, of 278 Harvard St., Cambridge, allegedly entered through the broken glass and grabbed several bottles of alcohol. Police said he appears to hand them to the second suspect who is waiting outside of the store.  After he  exits the store Chaisson allegedly entered the store through the same door and went for the area of the checkout registers.  He reaches for the lottery tickets and leaves the store, police said. The store‚Äôs owner confirmed 38 lottery tickets, valued at $5 each, were missing, police said.

Hill was arrested by police the next morning when he was seen in Davis Square carrying two bottles of Captain Morgan’s rum with Downtown Liquors stickers on them.

Hill was  arrested and charged  with breaking and entering in the nighttime for a felony, malicious destruction of property over $250 and possession of burglarious tools.