Footprints lead to arrest in restaurant’s bungled break-in

Liberty Bell forced to temporarily close for cleanup; loses estimated $30G

BILLERICA >> Footprints left behind by a suspect who broke into the Liberty Bell restaurant early Thursday morning led police right to his apartment and to his arrest.

Michael Nault, 33, of Billerica, is accused of gaining access to the thenclosed restaurant, at 420 Boston Road, through the building’s roof, according to the Billerica Police Department.

When inside the restaurant, police said Nault attempted to break into the restaurant’s main office by smashing the door’s lock with a fire extinguisher. Police said his attempt failed, while also causing the fire extinguisher to discharge.

While leaving the restaurant empty-handed, Nault is then accused of tracking the dry chemical powder discharged by the fire extinguisher all the way back to his next-door apartment, where police would take him into custody.

Fernando Teixeira, the manager of Liberty Bell, said the damage left behind by Nault’s bungled breakin forced them to temporarily close and cost the restaurant approximately $30,000.

“We are OK now and we’re open for business, and we’re here to deliver good service,” Teixeira said from the restaurant on Friday night.

Police reports available in Lowell District Court documents state police were notified of the breakin at about 9:20 a.m. Thursday. Police said the assistant manager, Joao Paulo Costa

Silva, told responding officers that he came into work to find a “white powder substance” throughout the restaurant’s kitchen, dining room, and leading to the main office.

In the kitchen, police reports state there was a hole in the ceiling near the ventilation system, with pieces of the ceiling laying on the floor below. On a broken ceiling tile was “a dark colored foot print,” police reports state. Costa Silva told officers that the restaurant was also missing a fire extinguisher from the kitchen.

The cash registers were all closed and locked, and did not appear to be tampered with, but police said the main office’s door lock appeared damaged, though unopened.

A clearer picture of what caused the chaotic scene was revealed when officers reviewed the restaurant’s security footage.

According to police reports, in the footage, a male suspect can be seen shortly before 7 a.m. using a fire extinguisher in an attempt to break into the office. The individual was barefoot “and had a dark substance staining his feet,” police reports state. The black substance resembled the grease from the roof of the building and the footprint on the fallen ceiling tile.

Police said they determined the suspect must have gained access to the restaurant from the roof utilizing the ventilation shaft.

According to police reports, the Billerica Fire Department was contacted to help police gain access to the restaurant’s roof. There, police said they discovered a pair of sneakers near a hole exposed by a HVAC unit that was “forcefully removed from its mounts.”

While documenting the scene, police said they observed several bare footprints with a white substance resembling what was found in the restaurant’s interior. According to police reports, the trail of footprints went from the hole in the roof to the window of an apartment on Boston Road, located right next door.

Police said they were able

to identify Nault, the resident of the apartment, as the man captured in the surveillance footage. Nault was placed under arrest.

Police pointed out in the report that it appeared nothing was missing from the restaurant.

The restaurant was