By Jim Clark

On Monday, June 19, Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the Super Stop and Shop store on McGrath Hwy. on reports of a stolen moped.

Upon arrival, the officers were met by the victim, who stated that he came out of Stop and Shop to find his motor scooter stolen. He provided a photo of the moped to the officers. He then pointed out another man who stated that he witnessed the incident and could provide a description of the suspect.

The witness reportedly saw the suspect pull up to the front of the Stop and Shop with a bicycle. He left the bicycle and sat on the scooter. He then began walking away, pushing the moped, towards McGrath Hwy.

While I was on scene at Stop and Shop gathering information, they learned that other officers were dispatched to a Bailey Road location for a report of a bicycle that had just been stolen. The dispatcher stated that the suspect headed towards Stop and Shop with the bicycle. The description of this suspect matched that of the moped theft suspect.

The officers sent a picture of the bicycle that was abandoned at Stop and Shop and it was confirmed to be the stolen one.

The stolen bicycle victim told police that she was sitting on her back patio on the second floor and she looked down and saw an unknown white male walking in to the first floor back patio. The first floor back patio is an enclosed patio with a door. She yelled down at him and he took off with the bicycle out of the driveway. Once he got out of the driveway, he got on the bicycle and rode it away. She saw him head in the direction of Stop and Shop.

The stolen bicycle victim immediately got in her vehicle and tried to catch up and follow him. By the time she got to Stop and Shop, she saw the suspect but he was no longer with her bicycle, he was with a moped, pushing it outside of Stop and Shop. She witnessed him fall down with the scooter while pushing it.

She then continued to follow him and when she caught up with him on McGrath Hwy., she started recording him. In the video, the suspect, later identified as Mark Bourglas, can be seen pushing the moped up McGrath Hwy., passing Otis St.

While Officers were searching the area for Bourglas, other officers doing a directed patrol on the Community Path extension reported that they had witnessed a man abandon his moped on the bike path. These officers were informed that it could possibly be the stolen moped and to stop the suspect.

Bourglas was stopped on the path between Joy St. and Fitchburg St. The moped was confirmed to be the one stolen from the victim.

Bourglas was placed under arrest on charges of larceny over $1200, larceny from a building and defacing property.

According to police, Bourglas stated multiple times, “This is a flim-flam case, nothing’s going to happen over this.” He also stated that he has been arrested for way worse than this many times.

While conducting a search of Bourglas, it was noticed that he had a security tag on his jeans, from Burlington, as well as a pair of sneakers he was carrying with a Burlington tag on them. He stated that he knows that they are stolen but that he didn’t steal them, he bought them from someone that sells stolen goods. He then stated the same about the bicycle and the motor scooter.

Bourglas was transported to the station by the prisoner transport wagonand booked on the above stated charges.