Updated 10 pm, Thursday
Oak Bluffs Police said that Felix Regan, 20, of Oak Bluffs is responsible for a Saturday-afternoon crime spree in which he burglarized a house — and painted a dog purple in the process — and stole a car. Police said he is also a suspect in a previous break-in.
Police were unable to provide any rational reason for why Mr. Regan decided to dump a bucket of purple paint over a border collie that was in the house at the time of the break-in.
Police arrested Mr. Regan on charges that included breaking and entering in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony; larceny of a motor vehicle; destruction of property; cruelty to animals; possession of a class A substance; possession of a class E substance; assault and battery on a police officer (police said Mr. Regan kicked an Oak Bluffs police officer on two occasions); and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Mr. Regan’s rampage through the neighborhood began early Saturday afternoon, according to the police report, when Mr. Regan broke into a house on Pinewood Road rented by Christine and William Crawford. The couple told police that they had returned to their home after a two-hour absence and saw that the rear bedroom window had been opened.
The couple discovered that a MacBook Pro computer was missing, along with several bottles of medication, Ms. Crawford’s license, and her Visa card.
“William’s sister, Tammy Crawford, also stated that her border collie was covered in purple paint,” according to the police report. “This was observed firsthand as the owners — who were visibly upset — were washing their dog outside with a garden hose. Purple paint was also observed inside and outside the residence.”
In an email to The Times, Ms. Crawford said her four-month-old puppy, Grayson, “was securely in his crate where he was safe and of no threat to him [Reagan]. He removed him from his crate, threw paint all over him then threw him out the door. This is not a fenced in yard as it was not his home. He wandered the street for a bit where he could have been run over before he laid on the porch and waited for our return.”
Even as police were responding to that call about 2:30 pm, there was another call for a report of a stolen vehicle on Firehouse Lane behind the Oak Bluffs Fire Department.
Timothy Begley was preparing for a trip off-Island, and had left his vehicle running as he loaded it. “Begley stated that he came out from his house and saw someone driving his vehicle away,” according to the police report. “Begley ran with the vehicle, and located it at the end of Firehouse Lane crashed into the woods.”
A witness told police he saw a man, matching the description of someone seen in the vicinity of the burglarized house, run away through the woods toward County Road.
At that point, based on numerous descriptions and their previous experience, police knew who they were looking for, according to the reports.
About 20 minutes after police responded to the scene of the burglary and the car crash, they received a call from a woman who lives on Webaqua Avenue, stating that “an intoxicated male party was in her front yard walking around.”
Several Oak Bluffs Police, and State Police Trooper Dave Parent, converged on the location, where they found Mr. Regan. During a search of Mr. Regan, police said, they found prescription pills, a credit card, a gift card, and identification that belonged to the Crawfords. The police report noted there was fresh paint on Mr. Regan’s trousers: “The paint was the same color as that found on the dog and residence of the Crawfords.”
During the investigation, officers received two additional reports of break-ins of residences on Webaqua Road.
Police transported Mr. Regan back to the Oak Bluffs Police Station, where he was interviewed. “Regan was incredibly uncooperative during the time at the police station,” according to the police report.
Mr. Regan shouted obscenities at the police. Later, while being transported to a cruiser for transportation to the Dukes County Jail, he continued his tirade, and attempted to fight and spit at officers. The report said that because it was Labor Day weekend, the outburst attracted considerable attention from passersby.
Once at the jail, he continued to fight with officers and sheriff’s deputies, according to the police report.
As of Wednesday, he remained in the custody of the Dukes County Jail.
