2-13-2023 11:38pm

Police Log: Capturing Fleeing Suspect in Larceny Case, Suspicious Driver Follows Natick Woman to Westwood

Darlene Cancell Editor

Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.

The news described in Westwood Minute's Police Log article series 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.

Saturday, February 11th

Barking Dog Noise Complaint

1:04 a.m. Police arrived at a residence on Washington Street on the complaint of barking dog. Police received a similar complaint of a barking dog at the same residence some months earlier.

When no one at the residence responded, police contacted the tenant. The tenant claimed to have just arrived at the home from being out of state. Police, who had been standing in the driveway to the home with the dog, believed this statement to be false. The tenant then told police that an adult child in the home could bring the dog inside.

While police stood outside with the dog, they observed lights in the home shutting off. No one came to the door. Police found an open side door and placed the dog inside.

Intoxicated Resident Causes an Early Morning Disturbance

2:58 a.m. Police received a report of an intoxicated man at the intersection of Pond and Clapboardtree streets. Police located the Westwood resident and returned him to his home. The man promised to go to bed.

Electronic Benefits Card Transfer fraud

2:09 p.m. A Pond Street resident reported possible fraud on an Electronic Benefits Transfer Card. The card had been in the possession of the resident on behalf of another individual. The resident had previously disposed of the card and contacted the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to close the account.

However, the resident recently received a statement showing a $21 balance on the card. Upon contacting DTA, the resident learned that the card was in use and was due to be replenished.

The resident closed the account, cancelled the card, and advised DTA of the fraud. A DTA representative apparently told the resident there was no need to make a police report. At the urging of the resident’s accountant, the resident filed a police report.

Friday, February 10th

Shoplifter Steals Backpack Worth $1,290

5:22 p.m. Police responded to Nordstrom Rack to take a report of shoplifting. A store employee told police that a female with a ponytail, grey, puffy jacket and black leggings ran out of the store of with a MCM Stark 40 backpack worth $1,290. The suspected shoplifter was accompanied by a friend. Both ran in the direction of Wegmans supermarket.

A store employee gave officers a photo of the woman. Police conducted a search of the area but were unable to locate the woman or her friend.

Thursday, February 9th

Haitian Citizen Arrested on A Warrant Stemming from Crimes Committed Over Twenty Years Ago

6:25 a.m. An officer conducting traffic enforcement observed a Subaru Forrester with a Florida license plate, speeding 51 m.p.h. in a 35 m.p.h. zone, southbound on Washington Street.

The officer stopped the vehicle. It was driven by a man with a Haitian driver’s license for identification. The officer learned that the man was 45 year-old Wolf Fevrier, who was living in Roslindale and had an active warrant for his arrest. The warrant was related to incidents in 1998: armed robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle, home invasion, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, threatening to commit a crime, and carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds.

The officer arrested Mr. Fevrier, who was allowed to contact a friend in Norwood to take possession of his vehicle. At the police station, he was given a citation for speeding, then transported to Dedham District Court.

Bitcoin Scammers Impersonate U.S. Government

9:11 p.m. A resident of Woodridge Road reported a possible scam, after receiving a call in the morning from someone claiming to be with the U.S. Border Control in El Paso. The caller said that the resident’s identification was being used for illicit purposes, and that the resident’s bank accounts were at risk. The caller referred the resident to another number, allegedly belonging to a representative of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The purported representative(s) of the federal government gave the resident a list of instructions for transferring funds to a “secure” bank account. The resident followed the given instructions. The resident withdrew funds from a bank in Norwood and deposited the funds in a Bitcoin machine at a convenience store in Norwood.

After making the deposit, the resident came to believe that the call was a scam and reported it to Westwood Police. The resident reported losing tens of thousands of dollars – an amount in the mid-five figures.

Police advised the resident to contact the resident’s banks and credit reporting agencies, as personal information had been provided by the resident to the caller.

Wednesday, February 8th

Westwood Police Help Capture Suspect Who Was Fleeing from Boston Police

7:13 a.m. Westwood Police provided mutual aid assistance upon learning that Boston Police were chasing four men on foot on University Avenue in Westwood.

Boston Police believed the suspects had broken into a rail car in Hyde Park, from which they stole liquor. The suspects then fled down the route of the railroad tracks in a U-Haul vehicle. They were headed towards Westwood and University Avenue.

Dedham Police and Boston Police found one or more suspects on the ramp to Interstate 95, at Blue Hills Drive. Another report indicated that a chase was underway, on foot, at the Home Goods store and the rear of Marshalls department store at Westwood’s University Station.

One suspect was described as a black man having long dreadlocks, wearing black sweats and a white tee shirt. A Westwood Police officer found a man fitting the description, in front of Life Time Fitness at University Station. The man told the officer that he was waiting for a cab. He said he had walked to Westwood from Dorchester and wanted something to eat from Wegmans supermarket.

Westwood Police contacted the Boston Police officers who arrived at the scene. Boston Police positively identified the man as their suspect and took him into custody.

Report of Suspicious Sounds

7:47 a.m. A caller on Hawthorn Street reported hearing two loud sounds coming from East Street. They were described as sounding like gun shots.

Police units responded and checked the area, but did not find the cause of the sounds. Police checked with groundskeeping staff for the nearby golf course, but the staff reported hearing nothing.

Tuesday, February 7th

Investigating Tip on Possible Banking Fraud

8:59 a.m. Westwood Police received an alert from police in East Providence, Rhode Island, about possible fraud affecting Westwood area residents.

East Providence Police’s investigation into fraud at Citizens Bank in their jurisdiction showed potential fraud in other locations, including the Citizens Bank located in Westwood’s Roche Bros. supermarket on Washington Street. A Westwood Police detective is investigating.

Job Applicant Won’t Accept “No” for an Answer

11:56 a.m. A local livery company contacted police regarding a job applicant who, after having been rejected, continued to persistently contact the company. As the contact was becoming bothersome, the company sought to create a record of the contacts.

Assault at Memory Care Facility Captured on Video

1:46 p.m. Police responded to Bridges by EPOCH memory care facility on University Avenue to take the report from management of an assault on a patient by a staff member. The patient’s family offered proof of the allegation. The family had obtained video from a remote activated camera that the family had placed in the patient’s room. The employee faces criminal charges of assault and will be summoned to court.

Suspicious Male Driver Follows Woman into Westwood

4:55 p.m. A resident of Natick pulled into the Westwood Police parking lot after being followed and harassed by a suspicious man in a vehicle.

The complainant was in the parking lot of a Braintree cosmetology school where she is a student, when she noticed a white man in this 30s, wearing a fedora, sitting in a dark or black Honda Civic. As she drove away from the lot, he followed her.

She reported that, while traveling northbound on Interstate 93, the man occasionally pulled alongside her, yelled, and gestured angrily. The complainant reported that the man retrieved an object from the glove compartment and waved it at her. The man continued to follow her as they drove.

She called her boyfriend, who advised her to exit the highway and drive to the nearest police station. The complainant pulled into Westwood Police Station. She believed she saw the man in his Civic turning into Westwood Glen Road. Two officers responded to Westwood Glen, but did not observe any such vehicle or person. Westwood Police advised the woman to notify Braintree Police about the event.

Monday, February 6th

Banking Fraud Grows from a Few to Tens of Thousands of Dollars

1:58 p.m. A resident of Gloucester Road reported finding questionable transactions on his bank account, dating to approximately the last nine months. The transactions began as small, single-digit purchases. Over time, they became larger.

The total amount of the questionable transactions reached in the tens of thousands of dollars. The resident’s bank covered the loss, and closed the account. The resident was advised of steps to take to secure his bank and other accounts.

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

Updated 3/1/2023 at 10:09 a.m. A mistaken reference to "outside" has been corrected to "inside" in the first entry titled, Barking Dog Noise Complaint.