“Whether the suspects knew [the houses] were occupied, probably not,” said Lt. Paul Campbell, commander of police District 9, which encompasses the southern part of the East Side.

Cyr suffered a broken tooth and scratches on his face. After the two men left his apartment at 3 Jenckes St., two landscapers at a nearby house watched as the men went to a parked car, removed the rear seat, left the seat on the sidewalk and drove away with Cyr’s TV tucked into the space where the seat used to be.

“There is an intensive investigation that is being led by Detective [William] Dwyer,” said Maj. Stephen Campbell, commander of the police investigative division.

The neighborhood meeting Wednesday in a meeting room at the Rhode Island School of Design was an effort of Campbell, City Councilman Cliff Wood, D-Ward 2, and a few residents.

More than 75 residents came to the session, which was intended to inform them about the crimes and the police response, and to begin a discussion about the possibility of creating a neighborhood crime watch, according to Campbell.

They left, the lieutenant said yesterday, feeling safer, better informed and better connected to their neighbors.

A substantial police contingent was on hand, which included Police Chief Dean M. Esserman, Capt. William Campbell, detectives Dwyer and Angelo A’Vant, Sgt. Daniel Gannon and patrolmen Jimmy Lamboy, Joshua Greeno and Ricky Piccirillo.

There were two earlier break-ins, according to the police, including an incident in which homeowner Stephen M. Viera, 39, of 89 Halsey St., College Hill, was upstairs in his home shortly before 11:30 a.m., Nov. 23, when he heard the sound of glass breaking downstairs.

An astounded Viera, who called 911, saw two men in their 20s stealing his 48-inch LCD television set. The intruders wielded a wooden railroad tie to break in the front door.

In both the Nov. 23 and Nov. 28 break-ins, the thieves used stolen cars, according to Campbell. In the Cyr case, the car was found abandoned outside the Petco store at 585 N. Main St. The police used a VIN number engraved on the discarded rear seat to confirm that it was the vehicle used in the break-in.

The stolen car belongs to Stephanie Lee, a RISD student from Long Island, N.Y., according to the police. She did not know it had been stolen until an officer contacted her.

In the Viera case, the car was stolen in Attleboro and it was found.

In the third case, James DeRentis, 46, was at home at 154 Arlington Ave., also on the East Side, shortly before 9 p.m. Nov. 26 when he, too, heard the sound of breaking glass. There was no intruder, but a thief broke the window with rocks and managed to reach through and get away with two laptop computers.

Campbell said the police believe the crimes were done by the same men because of the similarity of the methods, the descriptions of the suspects and the locations where the two stolen cars were abandoned.

gsmith@projo.com