Tisbury police are hopeful they have ended a long string of Peeping Tom incidents with the arrest of a man, spotted peering into a house in Franklin Terrace, on Monday night, chased and detained by neighbors.

Reginaldo DeSouza of Clough Lane in Vineyard Haven was arraigned in Edgartown district court on Tuesday on a charge of disorderly conduct and in violation of a town bylaw on Peeping Toms.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf, and he remained in custody yesterday on bail of $10,000. There is also an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer on Mr. DeSouza, a native of Brazil.

According to police, Mr. DeSouza first came under suspicion from a man having a cigarette and making a cell phone call outside a house at Franklin street and Greenwood avenue just before 8 p.m.

“He spotted him creeping along the side of a house, looking in each and every window as he moved,” said Tisbury Det. Mark Santon.

“Then a second person saw him. They confronted him, and at first he said he was looking for a friend, pointed down the street and started moving away.

“The person who first saw him contacted some associates who were coming over and told them what happened. The guy started running away. A foot chase ensued.

“I think a third and fourth party became involved, and one of the females called us to let us know what was going on.”

Officer Kelly Kershaw, Sgt. Robert Fiske and officer Scott Ogden responded.

Meanwhile the chase, Detective Santon said, “went through numerous backyards. One of the people who was pursuing him told the officers that he seemed to know every in and out of every backyard. He seemed to know the lay of the land very well.” He continued: “Mr. DeSouza finally was caught and held on Summer street by a number of citizens of the neighborhood. He was sweating profusely and out of breath. By the time they got to Summer street, he had lost his will to keep running.”

Detective Santon said police now were seeking to link Mr. DeSouza to previous Peeping Tom incidents in the same area, dating back to last summer.

Last October police released a sketch of a man wanted in relation to at least six incidents.

Detective Santon said there had been an attempt to question Mr. DeSouza about them.

“But he speaks broken English. We had a translator at the jail, but he didn’t consent to be interviewed.”

Last September police arrested another man, Irton DeSouza, who they believed was responsible for up to 100 peeping incidents in Oak Bluffs over six or more years. It was only after he was caught that police could be sure there was a second peeper active on the Island.

“When that was caught that eliminated him, then we knew there was another one out there,” Detective Santon said.

Only one?

“We’ll see if this puts a dent in our reports,” he said.