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12-02-2024 12:51am
Police Log: Threatened Clerk Summons Police with Holdup Alarm 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, November 24th
Vandalism on Beechnut Road
4:03 p.m. A resident of Beechnut Road reported vandalism to the resident’s vehicle. The resident told police that when parking in the street, in front of the resident’s home, a Lincoln with Florida license plates began honking. The Lincoln sped away. Later, the resident found a rock near the car and a mark on the driver’s side front window. The resident believes the driver of the Lincoln may be at fault.
Saturday, November 23rd
Request for Funds by Grandchild Scam
11:38 a.m. A resident of Longwood Drive reported being contacted by someone claiming to the be resident’s granddaughter, who requested funds. The resident went to the bank to withdraw the requested funds, but was advised by the bank teller that the call may be a scam. The complainant spoke with other relatives and determined the same. No money was lost.
Citation for Revoked Registration
9:22 p.m. An officer was on patrol when the officer noticed a Honda sedan with a revoked registration as of May 2024. Upon making the traffic stop, the officer spoke with the driver, a woman from Norwood, who claimed no knowledge of the lapsed registration. A tow truck was summoned and police seized the car’s license plate, which can be retrieved upon a showing of valid registration. The driver was cited for driving with a revoked registration and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
Friday, November 22nd
Fraudulent Credit Card Applications
3:29 p.m. A resident of Birch Tree Drive reported multiple debit and credit cards had been fraudulently applied for in his name. He was alerted to the fraud when several financial institutions contacted him with inquiries on the applications. A Walmart “green dot” money card was successfully opened, but the complainant is not aware of any money being lost.
Threatened Clerk Summons Police with Holdup Alarm
4:21 p.m. An officer responded to the Seasons gas station on Providence Highway for a holdup alarm. A clerk reported activating the alarm after feeling threatened by a customer interaction. The clerk explained that after a customer had trouble working a gas pump, the customer entered the store and yelled at the clerk. The clerk refunded the customer's money and advised him to try another gas station.
Later, a female tried to buy gas at the station, and the clerk recognized her from the incident when she was denied service, and in the company of the yelling man. The clerk refused service and advised her to go elsewhere.
The yelling man returned to the store, became aggressive, spit on the clerk and made verbal threats. The clerk summoned police, fearing for his safety.
A description of the couple’s vehicle was traced to a female resident of Norwood, believed to be the woman involved in this incident. Her male companion was also identified. The two suspects will receive summons for assault and battery and threats to commit a crime.
iPad Missing from Delivery Box
4:36 p.m. An officer was dispatched a French Street residence to take a report of a missing iPad. The resident received notice that the iPad the resident had ordered online was delivered to the resident’s front door. However, upon retrieving the package, the resident found it was fully sealed but without an iPad inside. There was no sign of tampering. The missing iPad is valued at $800.
Collision on University Avenue
7:49 p.m. On University Avenue, two vehicles were involved in a collision when a 2008 Honda driven by a man from Mattapan was exiting the shopping center’s main driveway when the Honda was struck by a 2023 Hyundai driven by a woman from Vineyard Haven that was attempting to enter the driveway. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage. A passenger of the Hyundai was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham. Police cited the Hyundai driver for failure to obey a stop sign and failure to yield.
Harassment of a Teenager
10:31 p.m. The parents of a teenage resident of Norwood, who works at a Westwood business location, reported that the teen received two suspicious phone calls during working hours from someone who appeared to be an adult male. One call included a warning and the other call included information about the teenager’s family members. Police believe the caller to be a man from Avon, whom the teenager does not appear to know.
Thursday, November 21st
Leather, Fur, and Mink Jacket and Accessories Stolen
3:08 p.m. A resident of Mattapan reported that his property in a storage unit on Allied Drive had been stolen. He reported leaving a black, leather jacket in the storage unit on November 18th, but returning on the 21st
and finding that the jacket was missing, along with other items. The leather jacket was described as having a fur hood and lining, and a value of $2,800. Inside the jacket pocket, the complainant reported, was a mink hat and mink gloves, valued at $1,600 and $600 respectively. Police are investigating.
Tuesday, November 19th
Violation of Trespass
3:04 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Target on University Avenue on a report of a female trespassing inside the store. Staff told police that the individual was suspected of shoplifting in October when she was observed pretending to scan an item in the self-checkout line and placing the item in a bag. At the time, she was confronted for stealing a pair of pajamas and verbally trespassed from the store for a one year period. Upon staff observing the female in the store on November 18th, staff prepared a written notice of trespass.
Dog Bite
3:30 p.m. An officer took a report of a dog bite from a resident of Highland Glen Road. The resident reported that the previous day, an unleashed dog had leapt out from between two cars and bit the resident’s dog on the face, leaving a small abrasion. The dog was believed to belong to a family member of a former resident of Highland Glen Apartments.
Staff of the apartment building informed police that the dog had previously bitten another dog in 2023, and that the elderly relative of the biting dog’s owner had moved away, but that the dog’s owner had returned to the property a number of times.
The animal control officer contacted the biting dog’s owner for a copy of any vaccinations, but the owner was unresponsive. Police informed the biting dog’s owner that she would have to provide vaccination records and abide by a quarantine notice for her dog, or she may face an administrative hearing.
Car at Stop for Pedestrian is Rear-Ended
6:58 p.m. A woman from Attleboro reported that she was involved in a car accident on November 15th at the intersection of Canton and Downey Streets. She told police that she had stopped her vehicle at a crosswalk for a pedestrian when she was rear-ended by another car. The drivers exchanged information and the Attleboro resident was making a police report for insurance purposes.
Monday, November 18th
Misapplication of Dog Walking Rules
3:59 p.m. The animal control officer spoke to a dog-walking Dedham resident in Lowell Woods on Sandy Valley Road, to take a complaint of being harassed. The Dedham resident reported that while she was walking her own two dogs on leashes, another party who was walking a dog off-leash began badgering the Dedham resident about getting a dog walking permit. Under Westwood’s dog-walking rules, dog walking permit is required of commercial walkers, not residents. The complainant reported that the badgering party was taking video of her, as well.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
