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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
9-19-2024 12:20am
Police Log: When Swimming is a Trespass, Porch Pirates, and a Breaking and Entering
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.
Monday, September 16th
Sextortion Email Scam
8:29 a.m. In a case of sextortion, a resident of Sunrise Road reported receiving an email which appeared to be phishing for information and threatening to release embarrassing information if the resident failed to send a $2,000 payment. Police discussed with the resident that this is a known scam which has been affecting local residents.
Sunday, September 15th
Sunday Rest
8:20 a.m. A resident of Burgess Avenue complained of a noise disturbance by workers using a Bobcat truck at a neighbor’s house. An officer informed the workers that they were in violation of the town’s noise bylaw. The workers promised not to turn on the Bobcat until noon. The town bylaw provides that no electric powered equipment shall be used before noon on Sundays.
Courtesy Transport
2:45 p.m. A caller reported that an “older woman” appeared to be hitchhiking on Gay Street. An officer responded and upon learning she was on her way to Roche Bros. grocery store, gave her a courtesy ride to the Washington Street store.
Cars Doing Donuts
6:00 p.m. At least 7 vehicles were reportedly doing donuts in a Lowder Brook Drive parking lot. By the time police had arrived, the vehicles had left.
Saturday, September 14th
Apple Watch Found?
7:33 p.m. Police received a report that a missing Apple watch, believed to have been lost at the Downey School playground, was located by a find app at a residential address on High Street. An officer went to the High Street address, but no one was home. Police left a message with the residence but have not received a return call. The watch is worth approximately $400.
Friday, September 13th
Porch Pirate Speeds Away on Moped
7:50 p.m. A resident of Gay Street provided police with doorbell camera video capturing theft of a package from her door. The video showed a male wearing dark clothes and a dark helmet with red accents walk to her door, grab the package, and drive away on a black moped. The package contained two electric toothbrushes worth $50.
Breaking and Entering on Stevens Circle
9:55 p.m. Officers responded to a home on Stevens Circle where residents reported returning home to find a lawn chair under a broken window. The officers entered the home and found it had been searched. Preliminarily, the resident believes a safe, which contained cash and jewelry, is missing.
Thursday, September 12th
Masked Porch Pirate Steals iPad
2:03 p.m. A resident of Blue Hill Drive reported that doorbell camera video captured a porch pirate on August 23rd, when a man in a mask took a package from the resident’s doorstep just two minutes after it had been delivered. The package contained an iPad valued at $500.
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Parking Lot Collision
3:31 p.m. Two vehicles collided in the parking lot of Wegmans supermarket on University Avenue. A 2020 Jeep, driven by a woman from Braintree, backed into the rear of a 2019 Mazda which was parked opposite and behind the Jeep. The Mazda received a minor dent in its bumper and the Jeep’s taillight was scuffed and cracked. The driver of the Mazda, a man from Braintree, complained of chest pain. He was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham.
Just Passing the Time
5:09 p.m. Police received a report from a resident that a vehicle had been parked on the side of the road for a few hours, in the area of Stonemeadow Drive and Stevens Circle. The responding officer found two men in the car, who told the officer they had been working at a nearby home and were waiting for traffic to calm before driving to Fitchburg.
Porch Pirate
6:50 p.m. A resident of Stonemeadow Drive reported that a package had been stolen from the resident’s doorstep. A doorbell camera showed a man walk up the resident’s driveway, grab the package and then flee. The package contained cleaning materials valued at about $30. Police determined that the man did not match the description of an earlier report regarding two men parked in the neighborhood for a few hours.
Wednesday, September 11th
Online Scammer Impersonates Microsoft Security
1:11 p.m. A resident of Currier Farm Road reported that she was working on her laptop when an alert message appeared, covering the screen, and announced that her computer was in danger of being hacked and that she should not turn off the computer. The message alleged to offer a Microsoft security contact phone number. The resident called the given phone number, and provided a credit card number to pay for a “security system.” Eventually, the resident suspected a scam and contacted her financial institutions to freeze her accounts and change her passwords.
Tuesday, September 10th
Missing Jewelry Worth $30K Found with a Friend
10:09 a.m. A resident of Sandy Valley Road reported that pieces of jewelry worth about $30,000 in total were missing. More than one individual was known to have access to the jewelry’s storage location for at least several days. Following the police report, the jewelry was found in the possession of a family friend who claimed not to know how the jewelry had come into their possession. All of the missing jewelry was returned.
Dogs Running Loose
1:36 p.m. Westwood’s Animal Control Officer (ACO) received a complaint of two dogs on Nahatan Street that were often running on the loose and going into the street. The officer attempted to contact the owner by phone, unsuccessfully, over two days. After leaving a second message, a letter was sent to the resident.
Citation for Unleashed, Unlicensed Dog
1:37 p.m. Westwood’s ACO observed a resident with an off-leash dog at the Deerfield School. The dog was running near children who were playing soccer on the school field. The ACO directed the dog owner to place her dog on a leash. A citation was issued for a dog running at large (second offense) and an unlicensed dog (second offense).
Stubborn Swimmer Trespassed from Hale
4:01 p.m. Police responded to Hale Education on Carby Street upon the report by staff that a woman, described as blonde, about 60 years old, and with a Russian accent, had a pattern of failing to heed staff’s advisement that no private boating or swimming is allowed at the reservation. Only registered swimmers are permitted when a lifeguard is present. However, the woman had not registered for any Hale program and there is no lifeguard on duty at this time of year. Staff noted that the woman had violated this rule about a dozen times, ignoring staff’s attempts to stop swimming unsupervised.
On this afternoon, as usual, she had arrived at the property to swim at South Beach, accompanied by two, unleashed dogs. One of the dogs was reported to be aggressive toward a staff member.
Police investigated and determined that the woman is Dover resident. Westwood Police met Dover Police at the woman’s home, and spoke with the woman. She was advised to stop swimming at Hale and that a future visit to the property would be considered a trespass. The woman was distraught and apologetic. She told police she would not swim there again.
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Shoplifting Shoes
5:17 p.m. Police were dispatched to Nordstrom Rack on University Avenue to speak to staff who reported that a male and female had stolen three pairs of shoes valued at a total of $197. They were observed placing the shoes in their own duffle bag, placing the bag in a shopping cart, and exiting without paying. They left in a red Jeep Compass. The female is described as wearing all black and the male is described as wearing a black tee-shirt with “1997” in gold lettering and the word, “ROBO” layered over the 1997.
Monday, September 9th
Email Scammer Pretends Personal Knowledge with Home Photo
8:41 a.m. A resident of Whitney Avenue reported concern after receiving a scam email that contained a picture of the resident’s home. Police explained to the resident that others in town had received similar emails and nothing further had occurred at those residences.
Scammer Impersonates FTC Officer
11:00 a.m. A resident of Highland Glen reported receiving a voicemail message from an unknown number claiming to be from Walmart to alert her that a PlayStation was being purchased on the resident’s Walmart account. A phone number was provided for the resident to cancel the transaction.
When the resident called the number, she was informed that the “Fraud Department” would connect her to an officer of the Federal Trade Commission in Dallas. Sensing a scam, the resident hung up and reported the incident to police.
Police advised her to alert the Social Security Administration and obtain a taxpayer Personal Identification Number. She was advised to notify the credit reporting bureaus and her financial institutions.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
