Two Tewksbury men, both with criminal histories, have been arrested in connection with a break-in earlier this week.

Robert Gorski, 20, of 140 Vernon St. and Matthew Pariseau, 27, of 195 Hill St. Extension, are charged with breaking into 11 Madeline Road and ransacking the house before escaping with numerous items.

According to a Tewksbury Police report, officers responded to a call from the homeowner at around 9:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 24., The woman said she had returned home to discover the burglary. Among the items stolen were two TVs, a laptop computer, pieces of jewelry, a DVD player and DVDs, a digital camera, coins, a baseball bat bag, and a small safe.

The officers found that the suspects had gained access by kicking in a basement door and discovered tracks leading toward the Trahan School. Also, the officers discovered a roll of "Lifesavers" candy, which they believed had been dropped by the suspects. Some of the stolen items were also found along the way.

According to police, witnesses had noticed two young men in the vicinity earlier in the evening. They provided descriptions of the men, who were then identified as Pariseau and Gorski. Both men are well known to police. Gorski, in particular, has a lengthy criminal history with several arrests for assault and breaking and entering dating back almost three years. In June, Gorski was arrested on default warrants but escaped briefly from Tewksbury Police headquarters after assaulting an officer.

Pariseau was located and arrested, still wearing the red hooded sweatshirt that witnesses had described. He was also found to be carrying a roll of Lifesavers identical to the roll found near the crime scene.

Gorski was later located in Sudbury and arrested. Both men are charged with breaking and entering in the night time with the intent to commit a felony, receiving stolen property, malicious destruction of property and conspiracy.

"I am seriously concerned about the upswing in housebreaks related to addiction but I want to assure our residents that my officers are working tenaciously to bring those individuals involved to justice," said Police Chief Timothy Sheehan. "A tremendous amount of solid police work performed by the Patrol and Detective Divisions went into this investigation and resulted in these arrests.

"We encourage all residents to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the Police Department.  With an increase in house breaks and motor vehicle breaks we ask that residents take precautions and ensure that their homes and vehicles are secured."