By Jim Clark

Reports of a person taking packages from porches brought police officers to Bay State Ave. last week.

Initial witness reports described the suspect as being male, wearing a blue hoodie and orange vest. However, after combing the area, police spotted a female individual at the corner of Bay State Ave. and Kidder Ave. wearing the same type of clothing reported by witnesses.

The woman, Dina Dimartino, 34, of Medford, was subsequently stopped by police for questioning.

As Dimartino was detained, the reporting reportedly made a positive visual identification of her as being the person in question, according to police.

The reporting party told police that he had observed a suspicious looking man walking down the middle of Bay State Ave., followed closely by Dimartino, according to reports.

The witness further stated that the two individual seemed to be scouting the front steps of the houses they passed, police said.

The witness reportedly told police that he saw Dimartino go onto the porch of a house on Bay State Ave. and go through packages that were on the floor there, eventually placing them in her bag.

The witness also told police that he saw Dimartino carry one package by hand to the rear of a house, outside his line of sight, then return to the front, placing the package in a trash container. Police later recovered the package, which was found to be empty, according to reports.

When confronted by police, Dimartino reportedly admitted that the bag was hers at first, but denied it a bit later.

Many items belonging to area residents, easily identifiable because of receipts and packing slips found inside the bag, were recovered, police said.

Dimartino was placed under arrest and charged with larceny over $250.