27° and Sunny
Image
Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
1-05-2025 11:16pm
Police Log: More Details on Burgess Avenue Fire, Delivery Driver is Suspect in Package Theft, 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.
Saturday, December 28th
Lost Dog Reunited with Owner
2:48 p.m. Police responded to the area of Lake Shore Drive and Pond Street on the report of a loose dog – a Shih tzu. The officer located the dog, which had no collar. It was checked for a microchip, and had one, but the chip was unregistered. The dog was placed in a kennel while police contacted owners of Shih Tzus in the area where the dog was found. All of those dogs were accounted for. At 4:00 p.m., a Wellesley resident contacted Westwood Police for assistance in locating her lost Shih Tzu. The dog was reunited with its owner, and identified as 7 year-old Hugo. Police advised the owner to register the dog’s microchip and give the dog a collar with identification.
Friday, December 27th
Lost Clothing Returned to Owner
10:35 a.m. An employee of Westwood’s Department of Public Works found an Eddie Bauer duffel bag with a new down vest, new parka, and recent store receipt in the area of Dover Road and High Rock Street. The employee turned the found items in to Westwood Police.
Police contacted the outlet store in Wrentham from which the purchase was made, and requested that the store assist with tracking the receipt. Sometime later, a sister of the property owner arrived at the police station to claim the items. The property owner was driving to Maryland and had contacted her to pick them up. The items were valued at $158.50.
Thursday, December 26th
Resident Fears Losing $70,000 in Suspected Scam
2:49 p.m. A resident of Tamarack Road reported a possible scam which the resident feared may have cost $70,000. The resident reported being contacted at the end of November 2024 regarding a possible investment in MoonPay, which is a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin. The caller instructed the complainant to create an account in December on the Signal Messenger app, which offers encryption for messages. The resident was convinced to purchase Moon Pay currency and transfer it to another MoonPay account. Between December 5 to December 22, the resident sent payments totaling about $70,000 in the form of Moon Pay, Venmo, and Zelle transactions. The resident has since become suspicious and has stopped further such financial transactions. Police advised the resident to inform the resident’s banks and credit reporting agencies and to put a freeze on the resident’s credit.
One Thing Leads to Another
4:41 p.m. An officer was travelling south on Providence Highway when the officer saw a license plate hanging by one screw on a grey, Mercury Sable. A check on the plate indicated that it belonged not to a Mercury Sable, but to a 2010 Volkswagen Golf, registered to a man in Attleboro. The officer made a traffic stop and spoke to the driver, a woman from Mattapan. She informed police she knew she was being stopped for incorrect plates, noting that she had just purchased the vehicle from a person in Norwood, with the license plate in that pre-existing condition. The officer noted that according to the vehicle title, it had last been registered to a Norwood resident. The current driver did not have a valid license.
The boyfriend of the driver was in the passenger seat, and reportedly told the officer, “I’ll be honest with you. I have a warrant.” The passenger, a 39 year-old man from Dedham and Boston, had a warrant for failure to appear on a shoplifting charge before Boston District Court.
Police arrested the passenger on the outstanding warrant, and cited the driver for attaching plates, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
For original reporting of hyperlocal news, subscribe to Westwood Minute!
Residents Evacuated from Two-Alarm House Fire on Burgess Avenue
6:52 p.m. Emergency personnel received an alert of a house on fire at 261 Burgess Avenue, reported by the neighbor across the street. Two residents were evacuated in the course of the two-alarm fire. While Westwood Fire responded, Dover Fire provided coverage for Westwood’s Fire Station One, and Canton Fire provided coverage for Westwood’s Fire Station Two. Dedham Fire and Needham Fire also provided assistance. Police transported the evacuated residents to relatives’ homes.
For more on this subject, read Westwood Minute’s article, Two-Alarm Fire Breaks Out on Burgess Avenue in Westwood, One Day after Christmas.
Wednesday, December 25th
Caller Reports Disturbance, then Refuses Police Help
5:32 p.m. Police were dispatched to Gables University Station apartments on University Avenue on the report of a domestic disturbance at the apartment. Police spoke to the female complainant at the doorway to her apartment. She refused to identify herself, and told police that she called police because a family member refused to leave, but that she did not want neighbors to hear the argument. She told police the family member had already left. The complainant asked police to leave her doorstep as she did not want neighbors to see police at her door. When police informed her about victims’ rights paperwork, she indicated that she was not interested, and shut the door.
Tuesday, December 24th
Mysterious Misplacement
8:14 a.m. A resident of Dedham reported having a black, vinyl duffle bag, with the Life Time gym logo, taken from the locker room while he was at Life Time on Harvard street. The duffle bag contained an Apple air tag and phone charging cord. Using the AirTag, the complainant tracked his missing bag to a residence on Pine Lane in Westwood.
An officer made a visit to the property, where a resident told the officer that he had been at Life Time, and upon returning home, found an AirTag and charger in his own bag. The Westwood resident informed police that he saw two men hanging around the locker room for no apparent reason. The police retrieved the items and gave them to the Dedham resident.
Parenting Problems
4:01 p.m. At a home in Westwood, police mediated an argument among family members regarding a disagreement over parenting policies.
Monday, December 23rd
Customer Complains Over Half-Filled Medical Prescription of Controlled Substance
10:01 a.m. An officer responded to CVS on Washington Street on the report of a disagreement between a customer and a pharmacist. Police learned that a customer complained that he had received only half the amount of a full prescription of a carefully controlled medical substance. When the pharmacist informed the customer that a manager would have to approve the replenishment, the customer became angry.
Police mediated, and advised the customer, a resident of Norwood, that the pharmacy would work with the customer to fill his prescription if he spoke with the manager. The individual agreed to work with the manager and not cause any problem at the store.
Stolen License Plate
1:07 p.m. A resident of East Street reported that the license plate from the resident’s 2024 Nissan SUV had been stolen, likely when the resident was at the University Station shopping area on Sunday, December 22, in the early afternoon.
Delivery Driver is Suspect in Package Theft
3:10 p.m. A resident of Gay Street reported that a package had been stolen the previous day. The delivery driver is an apparent suspect.
The resident had ordered shoes from Dick’s Sporting Goods, and selected expedited delivery, for which the store used DoorDash as a third party delivery method. The resident showed police security footage which shows a man in a grey SUV pulling into the resident’s driveway, exiting the vehicle, and standing near the SUV’s open trunk for a moment before closing the trunk and driving away.
Shortly after this incident, the resident received a confirmation that that delivery had been made, which contained a close-up photo of the shoes. The resident contacted Dick’s Sporting Goods and received a full refund.
Suspicious Caller May Be Impersonating Cable Company
7:18 p.m. A resident of Highland Glen Road reported a possible scam after being requested to pay a supposed Comcast bill over the phone. The caller identified himself a “John Morris,” a Comcast employee, and the resident provided the caller with banking information.
Police advised the resident to contact the bank first thing in the morning and to report any fraudulent transactions.
Shoplifting Suspect is Trespassed from Store
8:38 p.m. A woman was issued a trespass notice, good for one year, for the Target store on University Avenue, following her failure to scan multiple items at the store’s self-checkout. The 49 year-old from West Roxbury had a history of shoplifting. She will be summoned to Dedham District Court on the charge of shoplifting, third offense. Items taken were health and beauty merchandise, housewares, and office supplies.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
