LOWELL, Mass. -- A Lowell family woke up to a big mess in their back yard overnight when a police chase ended with a splash in their swimming pool.

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An SUV being chased by officers careened down the Silva family's driveway on Fleming Street and smashed through a fence, landing in their pool about 2 a.m., Boston television station WCVB reported.

The SUV driver was being chased by police as a suspect in several store robberies. The SUV had a stolen big-screen television in the back of the vehicle, police said.

Officers confiscated the TV after fishing the driver, Jesse Masa, out of the pool and arresting him. They said Masa, 37, has been wanted in a string of robberies at nearby appliance stores.

The homeowners were shocked to see what was going on in their yard.

"We heard a loud bang and my wife said to me, 'There's a car in the pool,' and I couldn't believe it," Steve Silva said. "I was pretty surprised. How can there be a car in the pool? I looked out and there was a lot of blue lights so I knew something was happening. Then I looked out and really did see a car in the pool."

Police were tipped off to a break-in at a Rent-A-Center store on Middlesex Street in Lowell about 1:15 a.m and that's what triggered the chase.