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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
10-20-2024 10:42pm
Police Log: Arrest of Terminated School Employee for Possession of Controlled Substances
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, October 13th
No Longer Welcome at the Inn
1:29 p.m. Police were dispatched to Budget Inn on Providence Highway on the report of an altercation. Upon arrival, motel employees informed police that two long-term occupants had been asked to move to another room and refused. Following their lack of cooperation, motel staff asked them to vacate. Upon police arrival, the man from Boston and his companion – a woman with no known address – agreed to leave.
Package Worth Over $1,000 Stolen from Apartment Building
6:23 p.m. Police received a report of a package theft from the lobby of the Gables University Station apartment building. A man from Malden had ordered a children’s stroller to be delivered to his girlfriend who resides at the apartments. The stroller was a convertible single-to-double system with a retail value of $1,207.
On September 25th, the man received notice from Amazon that the stroller had been delivered between 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., but the stroller was not to be found. After investigating whether the package was delivered elsewhere in error, Amazon advised the man to file a report with police.
One Thing Leads to Another
9:23 p.m. An officer observed a BMW fail to stop at a red light on East Street. It subsequently made a right turn at a red light where a sign was affixed, stating such turns are not allowed. Upon making the traffic stop, the officer discovered the driver, a man from Weymouth, did not have a driver’s license in his possession. The man’s license had been revoked. The BMW was towed, and the officer cited the man for operating a motor vehicle on a revoked license and failing to stop at a red light.
Wallet Stolen in Vehicle Break-In
11:27 p.m. A couple employed by Bridges by EPOCH on University Avenue reported theft of a wallet from a car. The girlfriend had left her purse in her boyfriend’s car, and someone had entered the car and removed the boyfriend’s wallet from the purse. The wallet contained credit cards, identification, personal papers, and about $400 in cash. Police advised the victim to freeze his credit card accounts. Police will be reviewing video security footage.
Friday, October 11th
Arrest of Terminated School Employee for Possession of Controlled Substances
8:07 a.m. Police arrested an 18 year-old male resident of Dover, and former employee of Thurston Middle School, after initiating a traffic stop for suspicion of theft of items from Thurston employees, and instead finding certain drugs in his possession.
Shortly before 8:00 a.m., police responded to the middle school on the request of the assistant principal that a just-fired employee be removed from the parking lot. The terminated employee was apparently loitering in a black Ford Mustang. He had been given a verbal trespass notice from the assistant principal. After leaving, he was subsequently suspected of having taken personal property of other employees.
A few minutes later, an officer saw the suspect driving in the area of Hartford Street and Gloucester Road. The officer made the traffic stop. The suspect consented to a search and denied taking any personal property of other people. However, the officer found controlled substances – Adderall and Concerta - with mutilated labels on the bottles. The suspect was arrested for possession of Class B and Class E controlled substances.
No property of school employees was found in his possession.
Violation of Noise Bylaw
10:22 a.m. A resident of Sunrise Road complained that before 7:00 a.m., a truck delivered a large dumpster container to an adjacent lot where a home is under construction, in violation of a town noise bylaw. The resident’s attempts to speak to the workers was not well-received. He was unable to learn the name of the general contractor. The resident memorialized the incident with police.
Missing Handgun is Found
4:04 p.m. A missing handgun was found in a Clapboardtree Street home that was being cleaned by the resident’s adult daughter. The father had reported the same gun as missing in 2018. The officer removed the missing gun report from the national crime database. The daughter retained the firearm with the intention of selling it to a licensed user. A small amount of ammunition was also discovered and handed over to police to be destroyed.
Resident Loses over $4K to Scammer Impersonating Eversource Representative
5:43 p.m. A resident of Clapboardtree Street complained of a scam in which a caller appeared to be impersonating a manager at Eversource utility company. The caller told the resident that it was a courtesy call before the utility service would be disconnected for an unpaid bill. The caller told the resident to provide payment at a Walmart in Walpole. The resident completed three cash transactions of $1,988.77, $2,000 and $491.03. Police advised the resident that the call was a scam and that no more payments should be sent. Detectives are investigating.
Thursday, October 10th
Vandalism or Just a Flat Tire?
4:58 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Michael’s craft store on University Avenue where a juvenile resident of Westwood exited Panera Bread restaurant to find his bike tire was flat. The officer did not find any obvious signs of damage. The officer instructed the youth to contact police if evidence of a malicious act was found. The youth returned to his nearby home on foot.
Shoplifting Suspect Charged with Misleading an Investigator
5:22 p.m. Asset protection staff at the Target store on University Avenue reported that a female shoplifting suspect was in the store office. A store employee had observed her concealing two Rtic water bottles with her backpack, while scanning other items at the self-check register. She was confronted when she left the store with the unpaid items. The two Rtic water bottles were worth about $180.
After repeatedly being uncooperative and providing a false identity, police were able to establish her identity, and she was trespassed from the store. She will be summoned to court for shoplifting and intentionally misleading an investigator in a criminal investigation.
Wednesday, October 9th
Stolen Political Campaign Sign
7:20 a.m. A homeowner on Clapboardtree Street told police that a Harris/Walz political campaign sign had been stolen sometime after 6:00 p.m. on the previous day. The sign was located at the front of the property, just inches from the road. A neighbor agreed to review footage captured by a doorbell camera to see if there are any leads.
Vandalism of Little Library at School Street Playground
12:02 p.m. A resident reported vandalism at the School Street playground where a “little library” book-sharing box was found with its plexiglass window broken and all books removed. In the place of books was a pile of acorns. The book box as installed constructed by the Westwood Early Childhood Council.
Porch Pirate Steals Apple iPhone 15
2:36 p.m. A resident of Whitney Avenue reported that a package containing an Apple iPhone 15, worth about $700, was stolen from the resident’s front door.
Video from the homeowner’s security camera showed that seven minutes after a Fed Ex employee dropped off the package, a man drove up on a black moped, wearing a black mask and carrying a Door Dash delivery bag. The man is described as “skinny” and about 5’8” tall. He placed his bag on the doorstep and took the package containing the iPhone and left on his moped.
Inside the Door Dash bag was a half-empty water bottle. Police have placed the bottle into evidence.
Second Trespass Notice for Suspect at Southwest Park
6:45 p.m. Two officers were dispatched to Southwest Park on the report that a male on a motorcycle was seen going through a dumpster. Police encountered a man from North Attleboro on a black Yamaha. He told police he was looking for food, not scrap metal. Police found that the man had pre-packaged sandwiches in his possession. The same man had previously been trespassed from another business located at Southwest Park, where he had been found removing scrap metal at an HVAC company. Police issued the man his second trespass, this time from the eatery.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
