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3-14-2023 11:09pm
Police Log: Police Arrest Man with Firearm, Nab a Fleeing Fugitive, Airbag Thefts and More
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.
Last week's installment of police activities did not get posted, due to editorial resources being devoted to other pressing news. Therefore, this installment covers a review of selected police activity over the last two weeks, from February 27th through March 13th.
Friday, March 10th
Unauthorized Change of Address
8:58 a.m. A resident of Grove Street reported to police that she had been informed by her mail carrier that a change of address had been filed in her name, requesting that her mail be forwarded to Hollywood, Florida.
The complainant explained to police that around the year 2000, her identity had been stolen and fraudulent charges were placed on her credit card. At that time, the charges were reimbursed, and a new credit card was issued.
Recently, the complainant had started to receive correspondence indicating approval for credit cards which she had not applied for. No loss of money has been reported. The complainant is starting a paper trail to protect herself.
Strange Mail
9:53 a.m. A resident of Gay Street reported receiving a letter in the mailbox that was addressed to a man with a Hyde Park address. The envelope was stamped, but did not appear processed by the post office. It contained $20. At the resident’s request, an officer filled out a police report and the $20 was logged into the evidence system.
Attempted Fraud Through Fake Bank Correspondence
3:28 p.m. A man residing on Beechnut Road reported possible bank fraud to police. The resident received a letter that appeared to be from his bank, containing a rejection to an application to open an account. The letter indicated that the rejection was based on a report prepared by “Early Warning Services LLC.”
When the resident contacted that company, he spoke to someone who asked for his personal information but who would not answer the resident’s questions. The resident showed the letter to an employee of the local branch of his bank. He was informed that the letterhead appeared significantly different from the bank’s official letterhead.
No money has been reported being lost. Police advised the man to freeze his credit cards.
Wednesday, March 8th
Pedestrian Struck in Parking Lot
8:16 a.m. Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian in the parking lot of Life Time Fitness. A 58 year-old man from Randolph was driving a 2011 Honda and making deliveries when he drove over the right foot of a pedestrian. The pedestrian, a 63 year-old woman from Canton, was transported by Westwood Fire Paramedics to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham. Police cited the driver for failing to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Credit Card Fraud Protection Plan Stops a $1,000+ Transaction
5:12 p.m. A Milton resident reported that her purse was stolen out of her grocery cart while shopping at Wegmans earlier in the day. Her purse contained identification, personal papers, credit cards and approximately $80 cash. Shortly after she noticed her purse missing, she received an alert from her credit card fraud protection plan of an attempted $1,015 transaction at CVS in Dedham. The transaction was declined under the fraud protection plan.
Tuesday, March 7th
Shoplifting at Nordstrom Rack Under Investigation
3:17 p.m. Police took a report of shoplifting from staff members of Nordstrom Rack. The staff members explained that a tall female had walked out of the store with unpaid merchandise.
An inventory of the items had not yet been assembled, but photos and video of the suspect were taken. The woman wore a mask and was believed to have entered a late model white Toyota Corolla. This case is under investigation.
Lost or Stolen License Plate
3:25 p.m. A resident of Highland Glen Road reported his vehicle license plate had gone missing earlier in the day. The resident had been running errands and was at a car wash, after which the plate was discovered to be missing.
Monday, March 6th
Another Missing License Plate
4:17 p.m. A resident of Buckmaster Road reported losing a license plate to his vehicle when travelling from Needham to his home in Westwood. He noticed the rear plate was missing upon arriving at home.
Two-Vehicle Accident in Parking Lot of Westwood High School
7:27 a.m. A two-car accident in the Westwood High School parking lot occurred when a 2015 Honda driven by a juvenile male exited a row of parking spaces and collided with a 2015 Nissan driven by a female juvenile. The Nissan was turning into the same row of parking spaces.
The Nissan sustained major damage to the driver’s side. The Honda received moderate damage to the driver’s side front fender. No injuries were reported. The Nissan required a tow.
Sunday, March 5th
Fugitive Apprehended after Fleeing on Foot
8:37 p.m. Police responded to a shoplifting in progress at Wegmans. Store personnel recognized a suspect from previous shoplifting incidents, including one approximately one week prior. The suspect was in the store, gathering items.
An officer approached the suspect as he exited the store. Upon making eye contact, the suspect fled on foot, running to a blue Mitsubishi which was being operated by another individual.
Police apprehended the fleeing suspect, who was discovered to have several warrants out for his arrest from Boston, Waltham, Gardner, West Roxbury, and Stoughton district courts.
Police in Sanford, Maine, also contacted Westwood Police with the information that there was an extraditable warrant for the man's arrest in Maine, for larceny.
Westwood Police charged the man, a 55 year-old from Boston, with larceny over $1,200, being a fugitive from justice, and conspiracy. He was held without bail.
The driver of the blue Mitsubishi, a man from Norwood, claimed to have no knowledge of the shoplifting; however, he will be summoned for shoplifting.
Friday, March 3rd
Theft from Unlocked Truck
1:44 p.m. A resident of Mill Brook Road told police that someone entered his unlocked Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and took a center console organizer and key ring, valued at a total of around $9. Other valuables were left inside the vehicle. The resident believes the theft occurred between 3:30 p.m. on March 2nd and 6:00 a.m. on March 3rd.
Elementary School’s Part-Time Employee Arrested
2:49 p.m. Police investigated a report from Sheehan School that three employees had credit cards stolen from their handbags. Police learned that the stolen cards were used at Target in Westwood and an athletic store in Braintree. Video of the person making purchases with the stolen cards had been obtained. The person was identified as a part-time employee at the school, 34 year-old Naima Lewis-Barnes of Stoughton.
On Monday, March 6th, Ms. Lewis-Barnes was confronted, and police arrested her. Police learned that she also had an outstanding warrant for her arrest from Dedham District Court. Police transported Ms. Lewis-Barnes to court, and she was charged with three counts of larceny from a building along with four counts of misuse of credit cards.
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Thursday, March 2nd
Traffic Stop Results in Arrest of Man with Firearm
6:27 p.m. An officer conducting stationary traffic enforcement on Washington Street observed a white Maserati pass by with an Indiana dealer’s plate. The officer observed that the plate had a registration sticker that had expired the day prior, on March 1st. The officer made a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle claimed to have rented the car. The officer found this suspicious because generally, one cannot rent a vehicle with dealer plates on it. A query on the license plate came up with no information. The vehicle was considered to be unregistered, and therefore could not be driven. The officer instructed the driver to exit the car, so that it could be towed. While the officer reached into the vehicle to hand personal items to the driver, the officer observed a firearm.
The driver fled from the vehicle on foot, but was caught a short distance away. Police took him into custody, to be held without bail. Police charged the driver, 33 year-old James Mulkern of Wrentham, with:
- possessing a firearm without an FID card
- possessing a large capacity firearm (more than ten rounds)
- improper gun storage
- resisting arrest
- carrying a dangerous weapon (a double edged knife was found),
- operating an unregistered motor vehicle
- possession of Class C narcotics
- possession of methamphetamines (18grams or more)
- possessing a firearm while in commission of a felony (trafficking meth).
This case remains under investigation.
Bank Fraud Over $9,000
3:04 p.m. A resident of Youngs Road reported bank fraud, with a loss of over $9,000. Additional details were not available at the time of this posting.
Wednesday, March 1st
Online Scam Involving a Fake Buyer, Fake Deposit
11:14 a.m. A resident of Burgess Avenue reported a scam involving an online buyer of the couch that the resident posted for sale. The resident posted the couch for sale for $800, and received an offer for $2,400. The buyer claimed that the additional funds were to hire a moving company to send the couch to the buyer.
Through transactions made on the Zelle platform, the buyer appeared to send the resident the $2,400, and then requested that the resident send back the excess $1,600 of the funds to the buyer. The resident did so. The buyer then informed the resident that the buyer could no longer purchase the couch due to money difficulties, so the resident sent another $700 to the buyer. The resident retained $100 at the urging of the buyer.
The resident then discovered that the $2,400 which had appeared to be deposited into his Zelle account was a fraudulent deposit. The resident attempted to contact the buyer, but the buyer had deleted all of the buyer’s online information.
Tuesday, February 28th
Drinking in the Restroom
3:51 p.m. Police were dispatched to Roche Bros. where they encountered a 25 year-old man from New Bedford with a store employee. The employee told officers that the suspect had taken eight cans of beer into the store’s restroom where he consumed them. Upon being confronted by staff, the man refused to pay $26 for the beer. He was given a trespass notice.
Monday, February 27th
Airbag Theft on Conant Road
10:28 a.m. Police took a report of an airbag theft from a vehicle belonging to a resident on Conant Road. The resident believed the theft occurred between 4 p.m. on February 26th to 9:00 a.m. on February 27th. The resident believed that the vehicle’s doors were locked. Other than the stolen airbag, there appeared to be no damage or forced entry into the vehicle.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
