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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
10-30-2023 11:30pm
Police Log: Underage Driver Involved in Collision, Elder Abuse, Hit-and-Run
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.
Sunday, October 29th
Too Early in the Morning for Car Shopping
2:30 a.m. A monitoring company for Porsche Westwood contacted police after observing three males walking through the parking lot, looking at the vehicles. Police responded to the area but found no one afoot.
Locker Room Theft
6:01 p.m. A female from Milton complained of having items stolen from a locker at Life Time Fitness on Harvard Street. She told police that she had arrived at the gym at 2:20 p.m. and stored items in a locker, but was unsure if she had locked it. Additionally, she thought she may have left items on a bench. She was missing a maroon Eddie Bauer backpack containing a cell phone, car keys, clothing, and personal items, with a total value of about $1,000.
Saturday, October 28th
Underage Driver Rear-Ends Vehicle, Resulting in Possible Injuries
7:51 p.m. At the East Street rotary, a 15 year-old boy from Dedham was driving a 2012 Nissan when it rear-ended a 2016 Toyota that was waiting at the top of the ramp from Interstate 95-South. The Nissan had minor damage to its front end and the Toyota had moderate damage to its rear. The woman driving the Toyota complained of head and neck pain and was transported to Beth Israel Needham Deaconess Hospital – Needham.
Upon being questioned by an officer, the juvenile driver said he did not have a license due to being only 15 years old. He explained he had borrowed his parents’ car while they were out to dinner, as he intended to visit a friend. He told the officer he was looking at directions while he pulled the car forward, rear-ending the vehicle in front of him.
The officer instructed the youth to interrupt his parents’ dinner to contact them and have them come to the scene. They did, and they removed their damaged vehicle, and left with their son.
Friday, October 27th
Dirt Bike Involved in Hit-and-Run is Discovered Abandoned
On October 27th, an officer determined that a dirt bike which had been found in the woods by a Westwood resident on October 23rd, was the same bike that was involved in a hit and run incident on Washington Street on October 19th.
On October 19, a woman from Brockton was driving a 2015 Nissan southbound on Washington Street toward Norwood when her vehicle was struck by a motor scooter/dirt bike at the East Street intersection. The bike, which had been headed north toward Dedham, fell over from the impact. However, the operator righted the bike and fled the scene. A few days later, on October 24th, a resident reported finding a dirt bike in the woods on Washington Street. It was towed for safe keeping.
Westwood Police have obtained security camera footage from a local business which shows a person on the bike, wearing a dark sweat shirt and grey sweat pants. The investigating officer is working on identifying the bike’s operator.
Reported Theft of Credit Cards
10:37 a.m. A woman from Norwell reported that two credit cards were stolen while she was at Panera Bread in University Station on October 26th. She and her husband had met friends there, and she had used one of the cards, a Discover credit card, for a purchase at the eatery. The cards were kept in a side pouch attached to a cell phone wristlet that was placed inside her purse.
After an hour at Panera Bread, her husband received a text alert about suspicious activity on the Discover card. Upon returning home, they learned that around 6:00 p.m., the Discover card and a second credit card were physically used at the Apple store and Kings Bowling at the shopping center, Legacy Place in Dedham. There were $1,400 worth of charges on the cards from the Apple Store and a $100 charge at Kings Bowling.
Video Games and Silver Stolen from Edgewood Home
11:43 a.m. A resident of Edgewood Drive reported discovering that 25 video games for a PlayStation 5 were missing. The game discs had been removed from their containers and the boxes were empty. Additionally, a silver set with service for 14 was missing. The games are valued at $1,500 and the silver is valued at $4,500.
The resident noted that the items went missing after a general contractor from Weymouth had performed painting, masonry, flooring, and other work at the residence, from May 2023 until just recently. She noted that at first, the contractor was not receptive to being contacted about the loss, but that there has been some possible movement toward providing restitution.
Missing Necklace
1:58 p.m. A resident of Stanford Drive reported a missing necklace, described as handmade, with gold colored balls, and worth $8,000. The resident had returned from a trip to Europe in May this year, and recalled putting the necklace away. However, the necklace cannot be found.
Thursday, October 26th
Publishers Clearing House Phone Scam
10:30 a.m. An officer responded to a residence on High Street regarding a possible phone scam. The resident reported being contacted as an alleged winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes for which he would be awarded a free Mercedes-Benz vehicle. The resident was asked to electronically transfer $6,000 to a bank account to pay for taxes on the prize. He did so.
Police later determined that the routing number of the recipient’s bank appears to be a Bank of America located in Henrico, Virginia.
The resident told the responding officer that someone would be arriving at the resident’s home to take him to receive his prize, and the officer waited nearby. No one came. The officer advised the resident that he had been scammed and discussed protective measures to take.
Resident Reports Apparent Intimidation Tactic for Payment
3:42 p.m. An officer was dispatched to a residence on Westfield Street on the report of a resident’s dispute with a contractor. The resident explained to the officer that three months ago, she had made a payment to a contractor through an app described as a Chinese Venmo. However, shortly before the officer arrived, two men had come to the residence to demand additional payment. They walked into her garage and stood, blocking her from exiting in her vehicle. She interpreted this as an intimidation tactic.
The officer advised the parties that this was a civil matter to pursue in Dedham District Court. The officer also issued the men a trespass warning.
The police report notes that one man was from Brooklyn, New York and the other man was from Quincy, MA. They had driven to the residence in a white, Ford sedan that was registered in Florida.
Intruder Leaves Behind Footprints
6:07 p.m. A resident of Mayfair Drive reported arriving at home around 6:00 p.m. and finding the home’s rear door open, and a damaged window. Upon looking through the open door, the resident observed a foot impression on the new, polyurethane floor. The resident called Westwood Police.
Officers responded and entered and cleared the house. They noted there were signs of the home having been searched. It is believed that a 50 pound, black, fire safe was taken, containing $2,000 and personal documents. Massachusetts State Police Crime Services also responded, and took impressions of the foot prints.
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Wednesday, October 25th
Abandoned Vehicle after Crash on Gay Street
7:52 p.m. An officer investigated a single car crash on Gay Street near the Milk Street intersection. Upon arriving, the officer found a 2021 Jeep Gladiator pickup had crashed into a rock wall and was “hung up” over it. There was heavy damage to the front end of the pickup, the air bag was deployed, and the driver’s door was ajar. The vehicle was empty.
The officer observed a child’s booster seat in the rear seat. Also inside the vehicle, there were a wallet containing identification and a Massachusetts driver license. They belonged to the vehicle’s owner, a man from Walpole. Police contacted the owner at home and requested that he come into the police station to make a statement.
The owner did not appear. Sometime later, the owner called police and explained that he did not immediately contact police because was tired from work and just wanted to get home. He said that he had maneuvered to avoid a deer, then lost control and crashed into the wall, but was uninjured.
A few days after the crash, the man came to the police station to retrieve his wallet and belongings. Police served him with a citation for a marked lanes violation and for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
Tuesday, October 24th
Disappearing Contractors Leave Job Unfinished
3:58 p.m. A resident of Little Boot Lane spoke to an officer about a dispute over payment with contractors. She had hired three individuals to work on her driveway, with work beginning over a year ago. As of September 24, 2023, the date that work was last performed, however, the resident has been unable to contact or locate the contractors to finish the job. She reported having paid tens of thousands of dollars in supply and labor, but the driveway was unfinished, and supplies and a dumpster remain on her property.
Two People Injured in Chain Reaction from Rear-End Collision
9:39 p.m. A collision involving three cars at the Washington Street and Brookfield Road intersection sent two people to the hospital. A 2013 Nissan, driven by a man from Westwood, was travelling south on Washington Street behind two other vehicles. When the Westwood man apparently mistook the gas pedal for the brake, his Nissan rear-ended the 2017 Subaru that was traveling in the lane in front of him, driven by a woman from Norwood. The Subaru, in turn, rear-ended a 2001 Honda driven by another Norwood woman.
Both Norwood residents were transported by Westwood Fire paramedics to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Needham. Policed issued the Westwood resident a citation for following too closely.
Monday, October 23rd
One Thing Leads to Another
4:45 p.m. An officer ran the license plate of a passing Toyota 4Runner, and discovered that the plate was registered to a Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver, a 33 year-old man from Wayland.
The man informed the officer that the vehicle was borrowed from a friend and that he had no knowledge of its registration status. He informed the officer that he had just arrived in the United States a few days ago from Ireland and planned to stay one month.
The driver was unable to produce any registration documents or a driver’s license. However, he did produce an Irish passport. The officer checked the vehicle’s VIN, and discovered it was unregistered in Massachusetts, with the last registration for the vehicle being in 2019 in Virginia.
The officer issued the man a citation for attaching plates, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
Thursday, October 19th
Elder Abuse
11:34 a.m. Police spoke with a family member of a female resident of Bridges by EPOCH, a memory care assisted living community on University Avenue. The family member alleged that the elderly resident had been assaulted by a staff member.
A review of surveillance footage appeared to show that a staff member, who was employed as a certified nursing assistant, slapped the elderly resident while the resident was lying in bed. As a result of the investigation, police are charging the staff member, a 37 year-old woman from Walpole, with assault and battery on a person aged 60 or over.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and Westwood Police for contributing information for this article.
Updated 10/31/2023 at 12:01 p.m. In the story, One Thing Leads to Another, the charge of operating an unregistered vehicle has been added.
