South End flower shop break-in suspect nabbed
A South End flower shop owner hit by a break-in last month still has a sense of unease, even after police charged a man for the incident.
Police arrested 44-year-old Luis Mercado of Boston on Monday morning after he allegedly broke into the Bloom Couture Floral Studio on Jan. 29.
“It is good that they caught him, but I don’t think I will feel a change,” said owner Suphoj Chanchew, adding that his biggest concern would be if his shop is targeted again.
“I don’t know why he chose me,” Chanchew said.
For Chanchew, what was once a nice neighborhood now seems less so with open-air drug activities and thefts around the area.
“I still feel nervous because I can see so much of it going on,” Chanchew said. “I have to deal with these people and it is happening in the middle of the day. I thought this was a safe neighborhood but now everything has changed.”
Chanchew said the shop’s security cameras helped identify the suspect.
“I guess he thought there was something worth breaking in for,” Chanchew said. “The shop is very exposed from the outside.”
According to police, detectives also recovered fingerprints from the store’s cash register, which were used to obtain a warrant for Mercado’s arrest.
Boston officers arrested Mercado near the area of 112 Southampton St., at 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning. When he was being taken into custody, police said the suspect stated, “I’m all done, this is it.” He was charged with unarmed breaking and entering and is due to be arraigned today at Boston Municipal Court.