7-12-2022 10:35pm

Police Log: Catalytic Converter Theft on High Street, Possible Hit-and-Run, Arrest in Back of Police Station

Darlene Cancell Editor

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay.

The news described in Westwood Minute's Police Log article is primarily based on selected information from the Westwood Police Department's daily log and information provided by Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and police staff. Occasionally, a few facts from other sources may be woven into these stories.

Wednesday, July 6th

Who is the harasser?

7:46 p.m. Police responded to the parking lot of Wegmans to speak to a man from Dedham who complained that, while he was in his motor vehicle, a woman with a shopping cart came too close to his car and became verbally abusive. The complainant reported that the woman became aggressive. The man recorded her on his phone.

Police reviewed the video and determined that there was no assault. In fact, it appeared that the man was entering the personal space of the female while he attempted to record her.

Road rage pursuit

8:24 p.m. A woman from Sharon called police to report an incident of road rage. The woman told police that while she was driving south on Interstate 95, a man began driving aggressively behind her. She brake-checked him, which appeared to cause him to drive even more aggressively.

The woman exited the freeway, and continued South on Route 1, to the front of AAA. The aggressive driver followed her off the freeway. The woman told the driver that she would call police if he continued to follow her. He did continue to follow her. She pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot to call police. The woman gave the vehicle’s license plate to police, but the vehicle associated with the plate did not match the woman’s description of the vehicle that pursued her.

Dirt bikes scare campers at Hale

10:26 p.m. Police received a report from a Hale Education representative who indicated that campers at Hale were complaining of people riding dirt bikes on trails, causing a hazard for campers. Two officers responded to the property. They checked but did not find any dirt bikes at that time.

Thursday, July 7th

Catalytic converter theft on High Street

10:00 a.m. Police receive a report of a catalytic converter being stolen from a 2003 Honda CRV that was parked outside Sunoco on High Street.

Friday, July 8th

Hiding out, arrested while at the police station

2:40 a.m. A police dispatcher on the midnight shift noticed movement in the rear parking lot of the Westwood Police Station, and what appeared to be a man lurking among the police cruisers.

Investigating officers found a Chevy Trailblazer, parked crookedly in a marked space at the rear of the station, and a man on foot. The man was a former Westwood resident with whom police have had past dealings. Police inquired what he was doing. The man said that multiple people were after him, and had been chasing him in his car, from Chelsea, Massachusetts to Westwood.

Police determined that the man, a 53 year-old from Malden, was intoxicated, based upon the smell of alcohol on his breath. Determining that he had recently driven to the police station parking lot, police arrested him for driving while under the influence of liquor. In the course of booking, police discovered the man also had a suspended license. He was also issued a criminal citation for operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license.

Bail was set at $25,000, which the Malden man was unable to pay. At 8:30 a.m., he was transported to district court for his arraignment.

Alert customer reports Marshalls shoplifter

4:02 p.m. An officer conducting a property check of University Station was flagged down by a Marshalls customer. She told the officer that she had just witnessed a shoplifting. As she was exiting Marshalls, she saw a man exit in front of her with a basket of items. He had not stopped by the cashier desk to pay.

The suspect was described as a tall, thin man, approximately 6’1”, who was wearing a white tee shirt, jeans, and multi-colored sneakers. The woman gave police the license plate number of a 2013 Cadillac XTS in which she saw the shoplifter depart.

The officer spoke with two store employees. It appears he stole Bluetooth speakers and $400 worth of jeans and polo shirts for a total haul of about $800. Police are investigating.

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Resident reports fraudulent withdrawals totaling $62,000

4:26 p.m. A resident of Brook Street reported a series of fraudulent withdrawals from her checking account, totaling $62,000. She reported the fraud to her bank, which is looking into possible reimbursement.

The woman also reported having trouble with her cell phone. She learned from her cell phone carrier, Sprint, that her cell phone account was associated with an email address which she did not recognize.

She was advised to change her account passwords, place watches on her credit accounts and bank accounts. Sprint provided her with a new SIM card for her phone to help block unauthorized access.

Saturday, July 9th

Looks like a hit-and-run

2:08 a.m. An officer conducting stationary traffic enforcement, on Route 1 Southbound near Glacier Drive, heard a loud sound approaching from the north. It sounded like a motor vehicle dragging something. The officer saw a black Infinity SUV that was missing its right, front tire. It was traveling on a rim that was partly ground-away. The officer observed sparks coming from the right, front quarter of the vehicle.

The officer pulled behind the SUV with the police cruiser's sirens and lights activated. The SUV continued on Route 1 into Norwood before stopping in front of a gas station. The officer approached and noticed that the driver showed signs of alcohol intoxication. After a field sobriety test, the officer arrested the driver, a 33 year-old man from West Roxbury, for driving under the influence of liquor.

Police queried surrounding towns for any unsolved hit-and-run incidents but did not receive any affirmative responses. Police transported the driver to the police station and bail was set at $240. Shortly after 5:00 a.m. the subject was released on bail.

Breaking and entering on High Street

11:40 a.m. Police responded to a home on High Street where an alarm had gone off. The arriving officer discovered that the front door was unsecure and there was an audible alarm. The officer noticed clear signs of a forcible breaking and entering and a searching of the home. Additional officers and a police detective arrived to assist.

The homeowners quickly returned. They identified a loss of jewelry valued in a range of low to mid five-figures.

Shoplifters with a taste for seafood

7:10 p.m. Wegmans security personnel reported a loss of about $1,000 in merchandise to police. Two males and one female had fled out of the store to the parking lot. The two males took eight cases of beer, sushi, lobster tails, shrimp, toilet tissue and laundry detergent. Security personnel were able to recover a shopping cart full of other items from the fleeing female. Police will be investigating and reviewing video footage.

Cigarette thief

7:55 p.m. The clerk of a Shell gas station on Route 1 North reported to police that a man had left the gas station convenience store without paying for cigarettes. The man asked for Camel Blues and stuck his card into the card reader. The clerk informed the man that the card reader was showing an error, to which he reportedly replied, “I know,” and then walked out with the pack of cigarettes that cost a little over $12, without paying. The clerk took cell phone photos of the man who is described as older, and leaving in a grey Lexus. Police are investigating.

Juveniles shoplifting alcohol receive trespass notice from Wegmans

11:00 p.m. Police responded to Wegmans on the report of two juveniles exiting the store with alcohol without paying. They left in a black sedan to which a license plate number was obtained. A separate police cruiser located the sedan and made a stop. One of the two boys had been dropped off prior to the stop.

Police determined that the two seventeen year-old boys had taken cases of Truly Lemonade, Truly Fruit Punch, and Smirnoff Ice from the store without paying. Their parents were notified. Wegmans declined to charge them but will be issuing them trespass notices.

Sunday, July 10th

Partying while parents are out

1:43 a.m. Police responded to a complaint of a loud party on Bonney Street. Upon arriving, police spoke to a juvenile resident of the address who told police that there was a small party in the backyard. Police checked the backyard and found that the party-goers had fled.

The host provided police with a list of the seven attendees, and police located them, and contacted their parents to pick them up. An adult relative of the juvenile host was also contacted and arrived at the home to take charge.

Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.