Man Tries Hammering Into Ex's Home, Nailed by Cops

East Providence Police arrested a Providence man Nov. 25 using a hammer to break into his ex-girlfriends apartment building, stopping him at her door with wood chips and the tool at his feet.

At 2:04 a.m. that day, officers were called to 28 Mary Ave. by a woman who said her ex-boyfriend was trying to break into her home. An officer arrived at the address, finding the front door to the apartment building, which was supposed to be locked, open. Inside, on the third floor, the officer found Edwin Neves Andrade, 50, of 30 Duncan Ave., Providence, in front of the woman's apartment door, a hammer and several chips of wood at his feet, according to a police report.

The officer kicked the hammer away from Andrade, behind himself, and asked the man what he was doing, according the report. Andrade replied that he was trying to get into his girlfriend's apartment. He told the officer he hadn't had anything to do with the wood chips at his feet, but couldn't explain why he'd been there with the hammer.

Two additional officers arrived on the scene, giving the first the luxury of a closer inspection of the front door and apartment door. The building's front door had clearly been forced open, according to the report. It was broken, with chips of wood lying around it. The door knob to the apartment was bent, and pieces of wood appeared to have been gouged out of it. Officers later determined there was about $200 total worth of damage to the doors.

The woman Andrade seemed so eager to see told officers the two had actually been broken up for about four months, and Andrade had begun calling her repeatedly earlier that evening while she had company. 

Officers arrested Andrade, and as they were placing him in a cruiser to take him to East Providence Police Headquarters, noticed a tan 2006 Audi outside with its window smashed in, belonging to the woman's guest. The man said the damage was new.

Back at the station, according to the report, Andrade admitted the hammer was his and that he had lost his temper over "girlfriend issues."

Police charged Andrade with breaking and entering, vandalism, domestic vandalism and disorderly conduct.