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4-13-2023 12:12am
Police Log: WW II Bazooka Causes a Scare, Closes High Street; Catching a Fleeing Suspect
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, April 10th
Rear-end Collision Results in Injury on High Street
8:00 a.m. A man from Westwood was driving a 2014 Volkswagen on High Street when he was rear-ended by a 2016 Hyundai driven by a woman from Worcester. There was moderate damage to both cars and the woman was injured. She was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Needham. Her car was towed. The Volkswagen left under its own power.
Sunday, April 9th
Police Catch Woman Suspected of Fleeing after a Shoplifting Attempt
4:42 p.m. Police responded to a shoplifting in progress at Wegmans. While en route, the responding officer was alerted by police dispatch that the suspect had fled in a black Mercedes sedan. A license plate was provided.
The officer spotted a vehicle matching that description and pulled the car over on University Avenue. The driver was a woman wearing a black “ICON” ball cap, just as described by Wegman’s asset protection staff. The officer arrested the suspect, a 54 year-old woman from Easton.
She was charged with attempting to shoplift items worth $340.62. The merchandise was left behind in the store when the woman fled and included steaks, shrimp, scallops, live lobster, snow crab claw, pinot grigio, merlot, blueberries, grapes, and onions.
Resident’s Discovery of Bazooka Round Causes High Street Closure
5:22 p.m. A resident walked into the police station with an object that he described as appearing to be an unexploded mortar round. The Westwood resident informed police that he had found the object in the basement of his home where he had lived for fifteen years. He did not know how it came to be there.
Westwood Police immediately summoned the Massachusetts Police bomb squad and closed a section of High Street in proximity of the police station, briefly, as a precaution. State police arrived approximately an hour later and identified the item as most likely being a World War II era bazooka round that was inert, containing no explosives. State Police removed the item and prepared it for disposal. High Street was reopened.
Police advised the resident that should a similar object suspected of being explosive be found in the future, it should not be moved. The resident should call police who will respond to his home.
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Saturday, April 8th
Vehicle “Keyed” in Parking Lot
4:30 p.m. Police received a complaint of a vehicle being vandalized in the parking lot outside Wegmans. The complainant, a Westwood resident, had arrived at the store to shop. Upon returning to her car about 35 minutes later, she noticed a large scratch on the left, side door. The scratch extended about three-fourths across the length of the car and appeared to be made by a sharp object like a key. Police are investigating.
Friday, April 7th
Identity Theft for Food Stamps
11:47 a.m. A resident of Westland Avenue reported having her personal information compromised when she had received a bill addressed to a misspelled version of her name, from “Montgomery Ward,” which is a commercial entity with which the resident does not do business. She had never opened up an account there.
The resident also told police she had been notified by the Department of Transitional Assistance that someone had used her personal information to apply for food stamps. The resident has notified her banks and credit reporting bureaus. She requested that a police report be made to start a paper trail.
Thursday, April 6th
Phone Scam: Caller Posing as Utility Requests High Fee to Avoid Change of Provider
12:32 p.m. A resident of Briar Lane informed police that she had been the target of a phone scam. The resident reported that she received a call, purportedly from Eversource, the electric utility. The Eversource name and number appeared on her caller ID. A woman claiming to be from Eversource informed the resident that her electricity account would be changed to another provider, “Spark Energy;” however, if the resident wanted to opt out, her call would be transferred to Spark Energy.
The resident agreed to be transferred, upon which she noted her caller ID showing a “Spark Energy” located in Houston, Texas. Another woman purporting to be from Spark Energy informed the resident that it would cost her $900 to opt out. The Spark Energy representative requested that the resident make the payment by gift card. The resident hung up, recognizing the call as a scam.
Lt. Sheehy comments, “We would like to remind people that anyone calling you on the phone, looking for payment, should automatically be judged suspicious. And if they suggest payment be made by gift card, that is a one hundred percent indication that it is a scam.”
Illegal Dumping
3:46 p.m. Police responded to a residence on Mayfair Drive where a resident complained of finding paperwork in his trash can belonging to an address of a new home under construction. The new home is located across the street from him and is currently unoccupied. The complainant believes that the contractors or house cleaners dumped trash in his barrels. He requested a report be made in case the behavior continues.
Identity Theft for Unemployment Benefits
4:49 p.m. A resident of Gay Street reported a case of identity theft, where the resident was notified by the resident’s employer that unemployment benefits had been filed in the resident’s name. The resident contacted the Massachuestts Department of Unemployment Assistance to file a fraud report.
Wednesday, April 5th
Domestic Violence Arrest
9:21 a.m. Police responded to a request for assistance by Amtrak Police in the booking of a prisoner. Amtrak Police had arrested woman from Cambridge on charges related to domestic violence. The woman was in their custody at the Amtrak Station on University Avenue. Westwood Police performed the booking, after which Amtrak Police accompanied the woman to Dedham District Court for her arraignment.
Tuesday, April 4th
Payee in Check Fraud Case Under Investigation
5:27 p.m. An officer responded to a private residence on Westwood Glen Road to take a report of check fraud. The complainant told the officer that a check had been removed from the resident’s checkbook, and it was cashed for $400 in the name of a payee whom the complainant does not know. The bank was able to refund the $400 to the resident.
Police located an individual sharing the same name as the payee. Police attempted to contact the person by phone, but did so without success. The detective bureau is following up on this case.
Monday April 3rd
Violation of Hands-Free Law and Driving without a License
1:06 p.m. An officer enforcing traffic on Washington Street observed a driver in a white, Ford Explorer holding a cell phone in his hand and talking. Upon making the traffic stop, the driver, a 23 year-old man from Guatemala, told the officer that he did not have a license and had borrowed the car from a friend.
Police also learned that the man had a warrant for his arrest from Falmouth District Court for failure to appear on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The officer declined to charge the man again for driving without a license, but cited the man for violation of the hands-free law. The officer made the arrest under the warrant and the driver was transported to Dedham District Court that same day.
Identity Theft for Unemployment Benefits, Again
3:04 p.m. A Plainville resident who is employed by the Town of Westwood reported unemployment fraud. The town’s human resources department had informed him that someone had filed a fraudulent claim using his personal information. The resident completed a fraud reporting form. Police advised him to ask his banks to monitor his accounts and have a credit reporting agency put a watch on his account.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Departmentfor contributing information for this article.
