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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
12-04-2023 11:53pm
Police Log: Angry Motorist Wields Gun, Grandma Pays with Counterfeit $100 Bill and Other Stories
Darlene Cancell
Editor
As this week's installment of the Police Log is a bit long, Westwood Minute is breaking it up into two articles - a featured article for Tuesday, December 5th, followed by a second article that will be featured soon this week.
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, December 3rd
Theft of Christmas Tree
4:34 p.m. Police took a report of a theft of a Christmas tree from Bean Farm on Clapboardtree Street. The previous day, the tree had been set aside for pickup by a purchaser who made the purchase remotely. Much later in the evening, the business owner discovered that the tree had been removed from the premises, but not by the purchaser. The value of the tree is $340.
Angry Motorist Wields Gun
5:12 p.m. An officer on patrol along University Avenue in the area of Canton Street was flagged down by a motorist who claimed that a man in a tan, two-door, Honda Civic coupe had pulled a gun on him, then fled north on University Avenue to Interstate 95. The officer turned around to pursue, and observed a car matching the given description. However, after pulling it over, the officer discovered the driver was a female, and not the male party described as wielding a gun.
The officer received more information from the complainant, learning that the complainant and the suspect had been aggravating each other while driving their respective vehicles on University Avenue. The officer learned that the complainant and the other driver were passing each other, honking, and applying brake checks. At some point, the Honda stopped, and the complainant reported that a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s pointed a black handgun at the complainant, before fleeing to Interstate 95.
Police performed an area search but did not locate the vehicle. No license plate was provided.
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Over $10,000 in Fragrances Stolen
6:28 p.m. Police received a report from Ulta Beauty in University Station that three females had placed multiple bottles of fragrances into tote bags and left, after being in the store for less than a minute. The estimated value of the stolen items was over $10,000. This was the third theft of fragrances in four days.
The suspects were described as one with silver/grey hair, black clothes, and a cloth bag with a horizontal stripe; another with black hair and a blue jean jacket; the third with black hair, a green hoodie, dark pants, and black and white shoes.
Saturday, December 2nd
Grandma Pays with Counterfeit $100 Bill
12:37 p.m. Police responded to Frugal Fannie's to take a report of a counterfeit $100 bill being used in a checkout transaction. A woman from Boston was shopping with her grandmother, who passed two $100 bills to her to make a payment. One of the bills was quickly determined to be counterfeit. The grandmother then produced a different $100 bill to complete the transaction. The granddaughter told police that her grandmother had found the counterfeit bill outside a store in Roslindale.
Contractor Leaves Job Incomplete
2:38 p.m. A resident of High Street reported a possible scam involving a group of four to five workers in their early to mid 30s, most of whom spoke with an Irish accent. The resident explained that on the previous Monday, a man who introduced himself as “Thomas” knocked at her door, offering construction services for her home, which he said looked in need of repair. They walked around the property together, with “Thomas” pointing out work to be done on gutters, trim, and a garage door. He estimated the cost would be $15,000.
The resident hired the men. She told police that each day, she drove them to Westwood’s Toast Office eatery to treat them to breakfast, and then she went to Dedham Savings to give them payment. The suspects worked several days, completing gutter and trim work, but were unable to repair the garage. A fence was also torn down, but an agreement was not reached on replacing the fence. On December 2, the workers reportedly left with a promise to return with fence materials that day, but they did not report. Police are investigating.
Another Fragrance Theft
4:30 p.m. A store manager at Ulta Beauty informed police that around 2:20 p.m. that day, a middle-aged man, about 5’3” to 5’9” in height, wearing a black jacket, orange shirt, jeans and sunglasses, was seen concealing items and leaving without paying. The door alarm sounded as he left. The items were worth over $1,800 and were made up of fragrances, fragrance gift sets, and testers.
Friday, December 1st
Crashing Someone Else’s Car while Drinking and Driving
12:47 a.m. Police responded to the East Street rotary upon receiving a report of a disabled motor vehicle. Police found an Acura in the middle of the road, with heavy front-end damage and with the front tire snapped off the axle.
The driver, a 41 year-old man who resides Dedham, confessed to drinking and driving. He told police that he had crashed the vehicle into the rotary curb. After being evaluated for injuries by Westwood Fire paramedics, the driver declined medical treatment.
The owner of the crashed vehicle, a woman from Dedham, arrived at the scene and informed police that she had not given the man permission to use her vehicle.
Police arrested and cited the man for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor, operating a motor vehicle negligently, a marked lanes violation, and using a motor vehicle without authority.
Attempted Fraud in Amount of $25,000
8:15 a.m. An officer responded to Courtyard Marriott to take the report of a scam. An employee of the hotel told police that someone claiming to own the hotel called at 5:30 a.m. and informed the employee that a fire inspection would be taking place, and that Fed Ex would be delivering a “fire certificate.” In another call, the purported owner told the employee that $25,000 in bitcoin was needed to pay for the fire certificate.
During a video call with the alleged hotel owner, the employee attempted to locate money in the hotel office to pay for the fire certificate. The caller told the employee that a courier would come by to pick up the money.
Becoming suspicious, the employee contacted police. An officer contacted the apparent phone number of the purported hotel owner, and inquired about arrangements for the collection of the $25,000. A male voice responded that the call was a wrong number.
Police advised the employee to block the caller’s phone number.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
Updated 12/5/2023 at 11:30 a.m.
