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4-17-2024 12:21am
Police Log: Westwood PD Assist Norwood PD in Arrest of Juvenile Violating Parole and Other 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 that it obtains from other sources into these stories.
Sunday, April 14th
Mediating Counterfeit Bill Dispute
5:50 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Smashburger on University Avenue for a disturbance where a customer was reportedly insisting on using a $100 bill which an employee determined was counterfeit. Staff is reportedly trained to identify counterfeit money and to ask for another form of payment when presented with counterfeit money for payment. On closer examination, however, the bill was determined to be legitimate. Police advised the parties of that finding.
Suspected Shoplifter Gets a Break
10:28 p.m. Police responded to Wegmans grocery store on University Avenue for a shoplifting in progress where a female suspect fled on foot and a male suspect entered a vehicle and left the area. Police were able to identify the vehicle’s registered owner as the suspect who appeared on video footage. Store employees informed the officer that $42 in alcohol was recovered, and that the store did not wish to pursue prosecution.
Saturday, April 13th
Amorous Uber
9:17 p.m. A resident of Willet Pond Drive complained to police of unwanted contact by an Uber driver. The homeowner had been transported home by the Uber driver a few days earlier, when he gave her his phone number and name and asked her to call if she ever needed a ride again. A few days later, she returned home to find a large bouquet of white roses at her door, with no card. Her doorbell camera showed a man bringing the roses to her doorway, ring the doorbell, wait, then return to his vehicle and drive away. She recognized him as the Uber driver.
Police called the phone number which he gave the homeowner and communicated that he was not welcome at the property and to cease contacting the resident. The Uber driver claimed he was delivering the roses for someone else. However, he could not provide more information on where he picked up the roses or on whose behalf he was transporting them.
Friday, April 12th
Tip the Delivery Person
8:22 a.m. A resident of Longmeadow Drive reported vandalism to the resident’s driveway. The resident explained that two or three weeks ago, the resident received an envelope along with the resident’s newspaper delivery. On the envelope was the written note, “Tip please” and a phone number. Sometime later, and a few days before making the police report, the resident received the newspaper along with another envelope. On the envelope was a written message stating, “Tip, please. $20 per month. Help me pay for gas money.”
The resident pays $10 per month for delivery of the paper two days a week, and does not provide a tip. The resident called the newspaper’s customer service department and learned that delivery drivers are from an independent contractor, and not the newspaper. The customer service representative told the resident that the issue would be raised to the contractor, without identifying the resident.
The following day, the resident found that the resident’s newly paved driveway had been vandalized with white paint. The responding officer also noted a minimal amount of paint in the street.
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Resident Suspects Family Member of Vandalism
9:36 a.m. Police were dispatched to a home on High Street to take a report of vandalism where two vehicles had been egged. The homeowner told police that on the previous night, two vehicles parked at his residence had been struck with eggs. A blue Subaru was hit on the hood and a white, Jeep Wrangler was struck on the side. An egg carton for “Whiskey’s cage-free eggs” was found discarded on the side of the road.
Video footage showed a white SUV driving slowly past the home just after 11:00 p.m. the previous night. The homeowner told police that the vandalism may be due to a legal dispute with family members. An officer determined that the white SUV is consistent with a vehicle of a family member.
Arrest for DUI
12:53 a.m. Police arrested a 30 year-old woman from Stoughton after observing her white, Ford F-150 pickup truck cross the double yellow line, constantly breaking, and making an extremely wide turn from Hartford onto High Street. Upon pulling over the vehicle, the officer learned that the driver had left her place of employment on University Avenue to go home to Stoughton, and that she believed she was nearing her home when she was pulled over. Police arrested the woman for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and cited her for marked lanes violation.
Thursday, April 11th
Impersonating an Architect
9:19 a.m. A resident of Briar Lane complained that someone had used his personal information, architecture license, and official seal to approve a design project in the City of Boston. The resident also has reported the incident to the Massachusetts Board of Architects, the City of Boston Special Services Division and Boston Police.
Alleged Assault of Co-Worker
2:10 p.m. An officer responded to Panera Bread on University Avenue on the report of an assault. A female employee had reported a disturbing conversation with a male co-worker. Following that report, on a subsequent day, the male co-worker reportedly became aggressive and assaulted the female by shaking her. Witnesses gave varying accounts of what had occurred. Police are investigating.
Wednesday, April 10th
Bathroom Vandal
9:48 a.m. Westwood Recreation Department employees reported vandalism in a bathroom in the area near the recreation department swimming pool. The employee reported finding excrement smeared on a stall door, wall, and floor. It was estimated to have occurred between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The area is accessible to the public that uses the swimming pool.
Parking Lot Accident at University Station
11:07 a.m. Multiple police units responded to the parking lot in front of the Marshalls/Home Goods store on University Avenue where an elderly resident of Westwood had driven her 2014 Nissan Altima over a traffic island, striking a 2021 Honda Pilot in which a child was sitting.
The child’s mother was standing outside the Pilot with another child, in the process of loading her Pilot when the vehicle was struck. Westwood Fire Paramedics transported the family to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for observation. A Norwood ambulance transported the elderly driver to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham. She had a cut on her hand and all airbags in the Altima had deployed.
Juvenile Flees Norwood Police
11:26 a.m. Westwood Police responded to a request from Norwood Police for assistance in arresting a juvenile who had fled from the Norwood Police and the Department of Youth Services who were attempting to carry out an arrest of the juvenile for a parole violation. The juvenile had entered a private home in the area of Nahatan Street and Maple Street. Westwood Police created a perimeter around the home. Norwood Police were successful in persuading the juvenile to surrender.
Tuesday, April 9th
Fraudster Impersonates American Express Representative
5:59 p.m. A resident of Porter Street reported attempted fraud after receiving a phone call from someone who identified himself as “Steven Martin,” and who claimed to work for the American Express fraud department. The caller reportedly said that the resident’s American Express debit card was used for a suspicious transaction in London, England, in the amount of $4,000.
The caller told the resident he would send the resident a check for $5,000 and the resident should purchase $4,000 in gift cards to give to Mr. Martin.
The resident became suspicious and indicated a preference to speak to a local representative or to contact the police. Soon after, the caller hung up.
The resident contacted a local American Express office which confirmed there was no fraud on his credit card. No money was lost in this incident.
Monday, April 8th
Suspicious Visitors
11:03 a.m. A caller reported that two suspicious women rang his doorbell on Burgess Avenue, and appeared to be inspecting his home and the home next door. They got into a grey, Toyota Camry and drove away. Police determined that the vehicle is registered to a man from Roslindale.
Vandalism of Vehicle in Hotel Parking Area
12:53 p.m. Police received a report from Courtyard Marriott that a vehicle had been vandalized sometime between 4:30 p.m. on the previous day and 12:45 p.m. on the day of the report. Police observed that two front tires were slashed, and two front hub caps were damaged on the car.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
Updated 4/17/2024 at 6:30 p.m.
