BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) _ Police have arrested a man who they say broke into people's homes in Massachusetts while they attended wakes or funeral services.

Authorities say they began to suspect the 35-year-old Plymouth man during an investigation into a series of break-ins on Cape Cod.

The man had previously served an 18-month prison sentence on a 2012 conviction for breaking into a police officer's home as the officer attended his mother's funeral.

Barnstable police say they began following the man's car Friday while other officers went to homes of residents attending funeral services.

Officers discovered a break-in in Cotuit and pulled the man over. Police arrested him after finding jewelry in his sweatshirt pockets.

The man, who police nicknamed the ``obit bandit,'' is facing multiple charges including felony breaking and entering.

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