Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a photo of the day.

HPD detectives part of effort to bring down thieves targeting South Asian families

Work by the Hopkinton Police Department to bring down a ring of thieves targeting predominantly South Asian families recently was highlighted by The Boston Globe.

In January, the Globe ran an article detailing how a ring of thieves allegedly stole more than $4 million in valuables from homes in 41 communities from Boston to Rhode Island. Hopkinton became a recurring target, with seven homes burgled between 2021 to 2023.

The thieves were active from June 2018 to April 2024, when they finally were apprehended. Hopkinton Detective Sgt. Gregg DeBoerr, who was present at one of the arrests in Rhode Island, said that the HPD and the Commonwealth Fusion Center had their eyes on these suspects for a while but weren’t able to pin them down until last year.

“A detective lieutenant in Medway was on to these guys and could never prove it was [them],” said DeBoerr. “We had surveillance on them but couldn’t nail them down.”

DeBoerr and Deputy Chief Scott van Raalten worked with the fusion center and task force of other affected towns to track the suspects using technology. He said they relied on cellular data to narrow down and track the suspects.

Many of the homes targeted by the suspects were South Asian. For these families, jewelry is an important part of their culture, DeBoerr explained. Those targeted also tended to keep these items in one location of their house — a fact the thieves exploited.

“Instead of the entire house, they’d target the master suite because that’s where they’d keep the most valuable items,” said DeBoerr.

Detectives recovered some jewelry that tied directly back to Hopkinton. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for every affected family and community.

“We couldn’t get everything back, but we could offer a sense of closure,” said DeBoerr.

Latest News

The Conservation Commission Tuesday night warned a homeowner who removed 74 trees from her property on Exchange Street to cease any further tree removal until further notice.

Parks & Recreation Commission chair Dan Terry Tuesday night encouraged continued transparency in the process of the Pyne Field redesign project as Phase 1 design work nears completion.

Vertex project manager Chris Eberly told the Elementary School Building Committee Tuesday night that due to “hitting the market at a good time,” the Charleswood School project is under budget at the 90% construction document phase.

In the latest installment of Tales from a Townie, Bill Hamilton recalls his first taste of independence with an adventure to Mount Washington for his 16th birthday.

This week’s Police Log features reports of a residential truck fire, multiple reports of vehicle vandalism and a resident’s door opened by a dog.

Despite the team’s size, coach Andrew Carlucci says the Hopkinton High School girls ski team’s roster is filled with a close-knit group of talented competitors.

Town meetings tonight include the Water & Sewer Advisory Board (5) and the School Committee (6).

Photo of the Day

Snow blankets the entrance to Hopkinton State Park after a recent snowfall.

PHOTO/AMIT JAGDALE