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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
3-20-2024 12:42am
Police Log: Couple Brings Kids along to Steal Pet Supplies, Gym Locker Thefts, and More Stories
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The news described in Westwood Minute's weekly Police Log article series is primarily based on selected incidents from the Westwood Police Department's daily log and information provided by Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and police staff, through written records and conversations. Occasionally, Westwood Minute may weave a few facts from other sources into these stories.
This week's Police Log article includes more reports of thefts from the locker room of Life Time Fitness, although this time, the reports all come from the men's locker room. Last week, Westwood Minute's Police Log article reported on a number of thefts from the Life Time Fitness women's locker room.
"The Westwood Police Department urges customers of Life Time Fitness to secure their valuables out of sight in their vehicles before entering Life Time Fitness," advises Lieutenant Sheehy.
On Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Westwood Police made arrests in connection to the locker room thefts. Keep an eye out for that story which is developing.
Monday, March 18th
Wallet Stolen from Men's Locker Room
8:43 a.m. Police took a report from a Dedham resident who reported having his wallet and cash stolen from a locker in the men’s locker room at Life Time Fitness. The thief took $280 in cash, the resident’s identification and license. A charge was attempted on Saturday, March 16th with a credit card at Long Jewelry in the amount of $16,000. The charge was denied.
Sunday, March 17th
Needham, Newton Residents Accused of Shoplifting
5:37 p.m. Police responded to a shoplifting in progress. A Wegmans asset protection employee told police that two females were observed placing items in a bag over the course of an hour, then leaving the store without paying. The value of the stolen items is estimated at $1,540.
Two officers located the suspects in the parking lot. The women offered to pay for the items but were told they were being detained for larceny.
One suspect claimed to work for Instacart, but was unable to provide proof of employment.
They were transported to the police station. The woman who pushed the cart out of the store was arrested for shoplifting. The second woman will be summoned to court for shoplifting. The women are a 23 year-old from Newton and a 47 year-old from Needham.
Juveniles Steal Alcohol
6:25 p.m. An employee of Roche Bros. on Washington Street reported a larceny involving two juveniles who walked out the store with alcohol without paying. About an hour earlier, the two boys went to the alcohol beverage aisle and took Twisted Tea and glass bottles, leaving without paying. The employee recounted a similar incident a week earlier when two juveniles attempted to leave with one bottle of wine, without paying. That time, store employees were able to retrieve the item from the juveniles who ran away.
Saturday, March 16th
Wallet Stolen from Men's Locker Room II
10:28 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Life Time Fitness on Harvard Street where a Westwood resident reported having his wallet stolen from a locker in the men’s locker room. He reported entering the gym shortly after 8:00 a.m. and placing his keys, wallet, and personal items in a locker. A few hours later, he found his locker unlocked, and slightly ajar. His wallet was missing. It contained credit cards, a driver’s license, $300 cash and personal papers.
The victim was sure that the locker combination had not been touched, and deduced someone with a key much have opened the locker.
At 10:19 a.m., the victim received a text from Chase Bank regarding an attempt to use his credit card for a payment of $15,884.28 at Longs Jewelers. The bank determined the transaction was fraudulent and cancelled it. The victim also cancelled his other credit cards.
Scammer Attempts to Entice Victim to Transfer $20K
1:01 p.m. A resident of Highland Glen Road reported an attempt by an unknown person to have her withdraw $20,000 from a bank to purportedly send to the Federal Trade Commission for safekeeping. The resident had been trying to make a personal care appointment online and clicked on a pop-up ad, which caused “unsavory” content to appear on her computer. An alleged Apple support contact was offered, at which point the resident spoke to someone who attempted to get her to withdraw and send $20,000 to FTC. The resident was not fooled, and no money was lost.
Wallet Stolen from Men's Locker Room III
1:12 p.m. A Norwood resident reported having his wallet stolen from the men’s locker room at Life Time Fitness on Harvard Street. It contained his driver’s license and two credit cards.
At 10:30 a.m., the victim’s wife called him to say that one credit card was used for an online purchase at Longs Jewelers for $15,500. The resident blocked the sale and cancelled his cards.
Theft of Airline Travel Reward Points to Buy Plane Tickets
1:11 p.m. A Westwood resident reported that someone had taken control of the resident’s airline travel account. The resident was contacted by the airline company which had discovered the fraud and closed the account. The airline discovered three plane tickets had been purchased by another person(s) using the Westwood resident’s travel reward points. One ticket was purchased for “Mohamed Mahmoud,” using about 30,000 points to travel to east Africa. A second ticket was purchased for “Oleksander Kyryliuk” to go to east Asia for about 10,000 points. The third ticket was purchased for “Lidziya Buslauskaya” using about 30,000 points. The total amount of points that was stolen had a dollar value of $2,507. The airline advised the resident that the account would be restored with the filing of a police report.
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Woman Arrested on Active Warrant for Drug Trafficking Gets Out on $20K Bail
5:07 p.m. A patrol officer ran a random query on a license plate of a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, and discovered its registered owner had a warrant out for her arrest from Suffolk Superior Court for drug trafficking of Class A drugs. The officer made the traffic stop. Upon discovering that the driver was the car’s owner, the woman was arrested and transported to the police station. Bail was set at $20,000. The woman is a 37 year-old from Boston. She was bailed out by her sister.
Friday, March 15th
Assault of Elderly, Handicapped Man
4:34 p.m. A resident of Gables University Station Apartments reported an assault on University Avenue. He said his vehicle was parked legally in a handicap spot on March 12th, and when he tried to enter it, he found his door was blocked by a Jeep Cherokee which had parked next to him. The Jeep had parked in an area marked with cross hatching on the asphalt, indicating extra space designated to leave free for people to access handicap parking spots. The Jeep had no handicap placard.
When a man and woman exited the Jeep, the Westwood resident spoke to them about the blocked access and an argument began. The man who had exited the Jeep struck the handicapped complainant, an elderly man, in the face.
Police are investigating to identify the man who assaulted the handicapped senior.
Suspicious Character in Black Trench coat
5:45 p.m. Fire Station 2 on Washington Street reported that a suspicious male with dark hair and black trench coat was acting erratically. Police responded but were unable to locate the individual.
Thursday, March 14th
Vehicle Vandalized
11:42 a.m. At Gables University Station Apartments, a resident reported damage to the resident’s vehicle which was parked in the garage. The vehicle was in the parking garage from March 13th
until March 14th, and was found with the front window cracked and the rear window broken in. Nothing was found inside the car or nearby which could have broken the glass.
If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Again
6:24 p.m. The store manager of Ulta Beauty on University Avenue reported an unsuccessful attempt at shoplifting followed by a successful one, by the same person. According to the report, on March 9th, a female entered the store, took a hairdryer from a display, then went to the rear of the store and appeared to be looking for a chance to conceal the item in her purse. However, she instead kicked the item under a display rack and left without any merchandise. On March 12th, the same individual again took a dryer to the back of the store, and this time she successfully concealed the hair dryer in her handbag. She exited without paying. The stolen item is a supersonic nickel and copper hair dryer that retails for $429.99.
Wednesday, March 13th
Coca Cola Beverage Company Truck Accident on Clapboardtree Street
7:08 a.m. A freightliner truck owned by the Coca Cola Beverage Company was exiting Xaverian Brothers High School when it struck a speed limit sign, damaging the sign along with the side of the truck. The driver, a man from Marshfield, told police that he was unfamiliar with the area and looking at his GPS while making the turn onto Clapboardtree Street. No injuries were reported, and no citation was issued.
Shoplifter Gets a Break for Cooperating
5:04 p.m. Police arrived at Wegmans, where the officer found a 26 year-old woman from Dorchester who had been found shoplifting about $70 in merchandise, but who was cooperating with the store’s asset protection staff. She had no identification on her, but police were able to obtain it verbally and confirm it. Given the woman’s cooperation, store staff informed police that the matter would be resolved by having the woman pay for the stolen items. The woman did so. She was also informed that a subsequent attempt at shoplifting would result in her arrest.
Couple Brings Kids along to Steal Pet Supplies
6:38 p.m. Police took a report from an employee of PetSmart on University Avenue who told police that a family with young children was observed shoplifting together, just a little over an hour earlier.
A group that appeared to be a husband, wife, and their two young children, entered the store and went to fill out paperwork for a new pet at the in-store Banfield veterinary hospital at the back of the store. The family then roamed the store before the man was observed walking out the front door with a dog crate on his shoulder. As he passed the register and exited, he reportedly told the cashier, “This is already paid for.” The employee told police that it was unlikely to be the case.
Then, the woman walked toward the exit carrying a dog bed and brown bag flung over her shoulder, containing unknown items. She walked out without acknowledging the cashier, while her two children accompanied her, each holding dog chew toys. One child who exited returned to the door, and threw the chew toy back inside the store.
The employee followed the group into the parking lot, taking photos of them and their vehicle. The reporting officer was able to determine the identity of the suspects. Police continue to investigate.
Tuesday, March 12th
Accident on School Street
3:59 p.m. A 2016 Volkswagen driven by a man from Norwood was proceeding north on School Street to Schaeffer Avenue when a 2021 Subaru driven by a woman from Dedham exited the CVS parking lot onto School Street, and struck the rear quarter of the Volkswagen. The impact caused the Volkswagen to rotate 90 degrees and to come to rest across the roadway. The Subaru had front end damage. No injuries were reported. The Dedham resident was issued a citation for failure to yield to oncoming traffic.
Monday, March 11th
Vehicle Left with Engine Running
5:46 a.m. Police responded to the Amtrak Station on University avenue where a black Jeep was reported to have its engine left running in the parking lot. Police located the vehicle and determined that it belonged to a Stoughton resident. A well-being check of the individual at home found no one at the residence. Police confirmed that the vehicle’s owner had boarded an outbound train. Police took possession of the keys that were left in the vehicle and turned off the engine. Around 2:00 p.m. the owner of the car and keys came to the Westwood Police Station to retrieve the keys.
Purse Stolen from Unlocked Vehicle in Nursery School Parking Lot
1:00 p.m. A Norwood resident reported that her purse was stolen from her unlocked vehicle while parked at a nursery school on Providence Highway. She had arrived at the location on March 8th around 4:30 p.m. About 10 minutes later, she returned to her vehicle to find her purse missing. It contained a cell phone, credit cards, and a small amount of cash, along with her driver license.
Shoplifter Uses Store Credit from Fraudulent Returns
3:44 p.m. An officer spoke to asset protection staff at the Target store on University Avenue regarding a shoplifting that occurred four days prior. The employee noticed a familiar suspect coming into the store, and caught her on store video making fraudulent returns of items which she had just removed from the store’s shelves, moments before. She used the store credit to purchase an Amazon fire stick, phone, case, sunglasses and handbag worth a total of about $85. Upon leaving the store, she was also observed with two additional phone accessories which had not been paid for. Westwood Police will charge her with aggravated shoplifting. She is a 32 year-old woman from Stoughton.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
