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2-22-2023 11:27pm
Police Log: Pepper Spray as a Deadly Weapon, Furnishing Alcohol to Underaged Guests and Other Stories
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The news described in Westwood Minute's weekly 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.
Monday, February 20th
Stolen Rear Spoiler Was Ripped Off Car
3:17 p.m. A woman from Scituate complained to police that the rear spoiler of her 2016 Ford Taurus had been stolen. She believes the theft took place at Life Time Fitness. She arrived there at 12:30 p.m. When she left the gym at 1:40 p.m., she saw that the spoiler had been ripped off her trunk. Police are investigating.
Friday, February 17th
Time to Move On
4:10 p.m. Police responded to Budget Inn on Providence Highway to take a report of a verbal altercation between the hotel manager and a guest. The manager complained that the guest, who had not paid rent in three years and was in the process of being evicted, frequently begs for cash and cigarettes from hotel employees. Police advised the guest to cease the behavior.
Traffic Stop Leads to Arrest
4:59 p.m. An officer conducting traffic enforcement on Washington Street queried a passing plate. The officer discovered the plate belonged to a vehicle with an owner who has two outstanding warrants. The officer pulled the vehicle over on East Street, near Smith Drive.
The driver, a 28 year-old woman from Norwood, immediately informed the officer that she had two warrants out for her arrest. One warrant is from Wrentham District Court for failure to pay a motor vehicle fine. The other warrant is for failure to appear before Dedham District Court on a felony assault charge. The officer arrested her. Bail was set at $195. She was released a few hours later.
Suspicious Woman Takes Photos of Other Peoples’ Homes
5:15 p.m. A resident of Booth Drive called police upon encountering a woman and her black Chevy, parked in front of the resident’s home. The woman was on the resident’s property, taking photos of the resident’s home and vehicle. The homeowner attempted to speak with the woman, but was unable to make sense of the conversation. The woman entered her Chevy and left.
The resident provided a license plate number to police. Police identified her as a 37 year-old woman from Braintree. She is known to Braintree Police for conducting similar activities there. There has been no record of assault of aggressive behavior.
Fraudulent Attempts to Cash Checks In Excess of $10K Each
5:34 p.m. A resident of Dean Avenue reported two incidents of check fraud to police. His bank had contacted him about an individual trying to cash a check for $12,050 on his account, at another bank. The Westwood resident informed his bank that he did not know the person. His bank stopped the transaction.
The bank also inquired about another transaction, in which an individual had cashed a check on the Westwood resident’s account for $13,039. The Westwood resident noted he is also not familiar with the person cashing this second check.
Police detectives are working on this case.
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Furnishing Alcohol to Underaged Guests
10:17 p.m. Several officers investigated a residence on Shoe String Lane in response to a complaint of a loud party. Through the windows, police observed a group of people under age 21, with alcohol present. Police identified eighteen juveniles below the age of 18. Their parents were contacted to pick them up.
An adult at the residence will be receiving a summons to appear in court for furnishing alcohol to people under the age of 21.
Thursday, February 16th
Arrest for Using Pepper Spray in Assault on Elderly Person
12:55 p.m. Police were dispatched to Dunkin’ on Washington Street where an altercation was taking place between two customers. A male customer was animatedly conversing with another male customer who attempted to ignore him. The first, animated customer took a pepper spray canister out of his pocket and followed the second customer. A third customer attempted to intervene as peacemaker, but subsequently lashed out and struck the animated customer. The animated customer responded by using the pepper spray on the intervener.
Police quickly arrived on the scene and arrested the individual with the pepper spray, 25 year-old Alexander Kalshnek from Norwood. He is charged with committing an assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery on a person over 60 years old.
The customer who struck Mr. Kalshnek is a 61 year-old man from Dedham. He will be receiving a summons to court for assault and battery.
Stealing Champagne, Steak, Lobster . . . and Depends Undergarments
6:52 p.m. Police took a report from staff at Wegmans regarding a larceny that occurred in the evening, three days earlier. A passenger of a black pickup truck entered the store, filled his cart with merchandise worth $1,476 dollars, and left in the black pickup, without paying.
Items stolen included several bottles of champagne and rose’, ribeye and strip steak, black tiger shrimp, lobster tails, langostinos, Cuisinart skillets, shaving cartridges, and Depends undergarments. Police have not yet identified the individual.
Misplaced or Modus Operandi?
10:39 p.m. A Brockton resident reported a break-in of his locker at Life Time Fitness. He had been at the gym for three hours while playing in a basketball league. When he returned to his locker, his personal items – including a laptop, iPhone, Nike sneakers, and wallet - were missing. The total loss reported was about $3,700.
Police returned to the gym to collect evidence on February 17th. Management informed police that the complainant had located his belongings the previous night. All items were recovered from a different locker.
Wednesday, February 15th
Suspicious Male on Washington Street
4:55 p.m. A resident of Washington Street reported a suspicious person on the resident’s property. The resident observed the individual go into the bushes at the front of the property. Police checked the area and it appeared that the individual had relieved himself there.
In searching for the person, police spoke with staff from CVS. Surveillance cameras from CVS had recorded the individual handling items in the store before entering the CVS restroom and then leaving without making purchases. When police checked the restroom, they found three empty beer bottles and an empty box for headphones.
Police have not yet located the suspect. The individual is described as a white male, possibly in his late teens to twenties, who wore a grey hooded jacket, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a backpack.
Monday, February 13th
License Plate Leads Police to Suspect in Shoplifting
3:25 p.m. At Nordstrom Rack, police took a report of shoplifting involving two female suspects. They appear to have pretended to get in a cashier’s line to pay, then walked out of the store with a cart full of items, without paying. Items believed to have been taken from the store included sunglasses, suitcases, and a handbag, totaling $2,003 in merchandise.
The store’s loss prevention staff followed the women and were able to provide a license plate number from their vehicle to police. Police traced the plate, which belonged to a rental vehicle taken out by a woman residing in Boston. The woman declined to be interviewed. Police will be sending her a summons to Dedham District Court for shoplifting.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
