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9-27-2023 12:24am
Police Log: Large Group Fails to Intervene in Juvenile Fight During Football Game, Scrap Collector Charged with Larceny
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, September 25th
Identity Theft to Take out a Fraudulent Loan
9:40 a.m. A resident of Gables University Station apartments notified police that someone attempted to take out a loan using the resident’s identity. The resident has not lost any funds. Credit reporting bureaus have been notified.
Animal Call, Part III
1:13 p.m. An elderly resident of School Street requested assistance in removing a dead fox from her yard. Westwood’s Department of Public Works assisted with the request.
Fraudulent PayPal Purchase
1:44 p.m. A resident of Thatcher Street reported receiving an email receipt from PayPal for a purchase of $97 which the resident had never made.
Sunday, September 24th
Unexplained Car Movement
6:12 a.m. A resident of Beechnut Road found the resident’s vehicle had been moved out of the driveway and into the street, overnight. An officer found no evidence of tampering.
DUI Arrest after Collision on Washington Street
10:25 p.m. A 2015 Volvo, driven by a Westwood woman, rear-ended a 2015 Hyundai driven by a juvenile female from Westwood.
The Hyundai was parked in the breakdown lane near 189 Washington Street when the Volvo crossed the fog line into the breakdown lane, hitting the parked car.
Police arriving at the scene administered field sobriety tests. The 24 year-old driver of the Volvo was cited for DUI liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle. She was arrested and later bailed out on personal recognizance.
“What’s Your Secret? How Do You Have a Home Like This?”
12:17 p.m. A resident of Nahatan Street reported answering his door on the evening of Saturday, September 23rd, and finding five juveniles. One of them reportedly asked, “What’s your secret? How do you have a home like this?”
The resident was confused. He asked if they were from Westwood High School. The juveniles responded that they were Norwood High School students. The resident informed them that he was hosting guests and needed to return to them. He reported that the group was respectful and left his property.
Later, the resident checked his property, and found nothing stolen or damaged. However, he wanted a record made of the strange interaction.
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Animal Control, Part II
5:03 p.m. A resident of School Street asked an officer to check a fox in her garden. She was unsure whether it was alive or dead. The officer confirmed that it was deceased.
Saturday, September 23rd
Suspicious Man Takes Measurements
10:25 a.m. Police received a call from a resident of Strasser Road who stated that an unknown man was on the property who appeared to be taking measurements. Police investigated and discovered the man was a land surveyor.
Animal Control, Part I
11:25 a.m. A caller reported a fox staggering in her backyard on School Street. An officer observed the fox and was unable to determine if it was ill. The fox left the property of its own accord.
Fraudulent Bank Withdrawals and One Deposit
3:18 p.m. A resident of Ellis Street reported fraudulent withdrawals of $4,580 and over $5,000 from his bank accounts, along with a deposit of $2,500 which he did not recognize. The resident has frozen his bank accounts and credit and debit cards. Police are investigating.
Friday, September 22nd
Shoplifter Switches Price Tags
4:57 p.m. A Target representative informed police about an individual suspected of stealing from the store on six occasions in the past three months.
The suspect is a female who is appears to substitute price stickers of more expensive items with the price stickers from fifty-cent plastic cups. The suspect pays at the self-check register, but the items are fraudulently underpriced. During the period of July through September, the female is suspected of stealing $623. The Westwood Police detective bureau is investigating.
Large Group of Bystanders Watches Juvenile Fight in Progress
7:55 p.m. A patrol officer responded to Westwood High School on a report by a detail officer that a group of juveniles were fighting near the end zone during a football game. Upon arrival, the officers observed a “small juvenile” being pushed into a net by a larger juvenile, with a crowd of about 40 to 50 bystanders.
Officers were able to identify the larger juvenile, a 13 year-old boy from West Roxbury, who was the “primary aggressor.” The smaller juvenile disappeared into the crowd. None of the bystanders were willing or able to identify the smaller party.
Police contacted the father of the identified juvenile, and requested that he pick up his son. The cause of the fight was not indicated.
Egged Vehicle
11:40 p.m. A Westwood resident complained of an egg hitting the resident’s vehicle while traveling westbound on High Street, near Chiara’s Bistro. The complainant did not see anyone on the side of the road. An officer investigated the area, but did not find any one who could have thrown the egg.
Wednesday, September 20th
Shoplifting in an Uber Ride
9:46 a.m. At Wegmans, an officer spoke to the store’s asset protection staff about a larceny that had occurred a few moments earlier. An employee left her purse at the self-checkout register when another woman took the purse, loaded it with groceries, and left the store in an SUV. The suspect is described as a woman in her early 40s with long, black hair, and blue jacket.
Police discovered that the SUV in which the suspect left was an Uber ride. The Uber driver informed police that he picked up the suspect at the Route 128 Amtrak train station, drove her to Wegmans, then drove her to a Norwood business. This case is being investigated.
Tuesday, September 19th
Persistent Scrap Collector Gets Summons
10:33 p.m. Two officers responded to Prime Acura on Providence Highway on the report of an in-progress theft of scrap metal. Police arrived to find a man from Hudson, Massachusetts, who was standing in the scrap metal collection bin, located at the rear of the dealership. There were approximately 10 to 15 brake rotors in his pickup truck. The man admitted to taking them from the dumpster. Police advised the man to put the scrap metal back and to leave.
Two nights earlier, on Sunday evening, September 17th, around 10:50 p.m., the same man was caught on the dealership’s security video removing scrap metal from the dealership's bin, in the form of brake rotors. They were worth about $1,000. He placed them in a white Chevy or GMC single cab pickup truck. After about 5 minutes, he left the property. A detective recognized the man from a prior incident.
The man will receive a summons to appear in court for larceny under $1,200.
Monday, September 18th
Shoplifters Flee in White Sonata
4:34 p.m. Police were dispatched for a shoplifting in progress at Wegmans on University Avenue. The suspects fled in a white, Honda Sonata. Police were unable to locate the vehicle. The suspects left behind merchandise worth $60.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and Westwood Police for contributing information for this article.
Updated 9/27/2023 at 2:01 p.m.
