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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
3-29-2023 11:43pm
Police Log: Active Shooter Hoax, 4 Arrests, Outsmarting a Scammer
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.
Tuesday, March 28th
Swatter Sends Police to High School on Active Shooter Hoax
9:28 a.m. Westwood Police received a call from a man who claimed have witnessed a shooting with casualties in or around a first floor restroom at Westwood High School, which Westwood Police almost immediately determined to be a hoax.
A Westwood Police school resource officer was on site at the time of the call, and was quickly able to convey to police that he had heard no gun shots. He called for backup, however. The officer checked the bathrooms, and found no disturbance in any of them or elsewhere on campus.
It was only about 16 minutes after police logged the swatter call that Westwood Public Schools Superintendent Emily Parks notified student families by email of the hoax and its peaceful resolution. Unlike other schools in the area that received similar swatter calls that same day, the quick resolution meant that Westwood High School did not enter a lockdown.
Westwood Police Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy notes that such swatter hoaxes are widespread, and have been occurring in Massachusetts and other states, for the past several weeks. On the same day that Westwood was targeted by the swatter, at least 28 other schools, many nearby, also received similar phone calls. While Lt. Sheehy could not discuss specifics due to the ongoing investigation, he notes that there are indications that the calls may have been made by the same person or entity.
For Westwood Minute's initial reporting on this incident, read: Swatter(s) Target Westwood High School, Multiple Schools in Local Area and State
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Monday, March 27th
Petty Cash Thief Strikes Again
8:04 a.m. At Mercedes-Benz of Westwood, a parts manager told police the manager found damage to a cabinet and desk and the cash drawer open and empty. About $75 in cash was taken. The furniture was estimated to be $100, for a total loss of $175.
The theft is believed to have occurred between 4:30 p.m. on March 25th to 8:00 a.m. on March 27th. Staff reported a similar theft on March 17th
when petty cash was discovered missing from an office drawer.
Saturday, March 25th
A Surprise That Stinks
1:36 p.m. A resident of Canton Street complained that three days prior, the resident found a tote bag containing human excrement in the resident’s driveway. The resident believed it to have been left by an Amazon delivery driver who made a delivery to the residence that same day. The resident plans to forward video footage to the police.
The resident contacted Amazon to complain and was informed that a “haz mat” crew would remove the bag from the driveway.
Friday, March 24th
Fight Results in Arrest
9:12 p.m. Police received a report of a fight between two men at the Westwood Glen Road apartments. When police arrived, they found three men screaming. Two were preparing to fight, with one man standing in as proxy for the third man. At issue was a female friend.
Police separated the men, and allowed two of the men to leave. The third man, a 24 year-old from Pittsfield, was wanted on a warrant from Pittsfield District Court for assault and battery. He was arrested.
Thursday, March 23rd
Woman Arrested on Four Outstanding Warrants and Aggravated Shoplifting
5:32 p.m. Police officers responded to the parking lot of Wegmans on the report of a larceny. Employees observed three women pushing their carts of merchandise out of the store without paying. They proceeded to load their groceries into a grey SUV in the parking lot. The merchandise was worth $1,346.91.
Police located the women and searched the SUV. Inside, police found numerous pieces of clothing and household items with TJ Maxx store tags, for which the women were unable to produce receipts.
One woman, a 47 year-old from Dorchester, was found to have wire cutters on her, and a history that included several warrants for her arrest. Westwood Police arrested her for those warrants that were issued for larceny, assault and battery threats, possession of Class B substance, and shoplifting. Police also charged her with larceny over $1,200, and aggravated shoplifting for possessing a theft removal detection device.
The other two accomplices, a 45 year-old and a 52 year-old, both from Dorchester, were also each charged with larceny over $1,200.
All three women were held overnight and transported to Dedham District Court the next morning.
Three Local Restaurants in Violation of Liquor Law
6:59 p.m. Police found Casa Loca restaurant in violation of the liquor law for serving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age. Police are preparing a report to submit to Westwood’s Select Board.
7:20 p.m. Police found Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza in violation of the liquor law for serving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age. Police are preparing a report to submit to Westwood’s Select Board.
8:08 p.m. Police found Neroli Restaurant in violation of the liquor law for serving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age. Police are preparing a report to submit to Westwood’s Select Board.
Wednesday, March 22nd
When the Scammed Outsmarts the Scammer
12:11 p.m. A resident of Deerfield Avenue reported being the victim of an online scam. She told police she was contacted by a stranger with whom she believed she shared a personal acquaintance. The stranger proposed a small business partnership that involved compensating the resident $500.
The stranger sent the resident a digital check for $1,000, and requested that she deposit $500 to her personal account and use the other $500 to open up an account for the business. The resident deposited the $1,000 check, but only put $5 in the new business account. She wanted to test that it was able to receive money.
Before the resident deposited any further money into the new business account, her personal bank informed her that the $1,000 electronic check was fraudulent. As a result of the resident’s test, she limited her loss from the fraud to $5.
One Thing Leads To Another
7:38 p.m. A 26 year-old woman from Brockton was driving her Toyota when she rear-ended an Audi that was stopped, preparing to enter the East Street rotary. No injuries were reported and damage to the vehicles was mild.
However, police discovered the woman had a warrant from Brockton District Court for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, unsafe operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. She was arrested. Bail was set at personal recognizance.
Tuesday, March 21st
Losing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Online Investment Scam
12:23 p.m. Police spoke with a resident of Pleasant Valley Road who reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The resident had corresponded with an individual on LinkedIn regarding stock investments and was directed to a website for online trading, MT5, and also a group allegedly in the United Kingdom, Evest. After two months, the resident had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then, the account was suddenly cleared out. All communication with the LinkedIn contact ceased.
One Thing Leads to Another... and Another
8:03 p.m. Several police units responded to Westwood’s Amtrak station on the report of an unticketed passenger who refused to exit the train.
When police arrived, the individual was found hiding in the bathroom of a train car. He exited without incident.
Police discovered that the 33 year-old man from Providence, Rhode Island, was listed as a missing person by Boston Police. Also, he had a warrant for his arrest from Boston District Court for assault and battery on a corrections facility employee and for disturbing a correctional institution. Westwood Police notified Boston Police of the man’s location and arrested him on the warrant.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
