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4-02-2025 12:04am
Police Log: Inside an Abandoned, Damaged SUV, Police Find BB Gun, Alcohol Containers, Marijuana and Cigarette Butts
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 Michael DiLalla 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, March 24th
Abandoned SUV Found Damaged, Littered with Alcohol Containers, Marijuana and Cigarette Butts
5:48 a.m. Police received a report of an abandoned vehicle in the parking lot of a business on University Avenue. Upon arrival, police found an older, grey Honda CRV with major front end damage. The front passenger door window was open, and the interior light of the SUV was on. There were beer cans, wine bottles, marijuana and cigarette butts inside the car. The air bag had deployed and was lying on the dashboard.
Upon investigating, police found that the SUV was registered to a resident of Westwood. Police attempted to contact him on the phone, but did not reach him. The vehicle was towed and inventoried, during which police also found a BB gun, a Rhode Island EBT card, and a parking ticket from March 19th of this year. The case has been forwarded to detectives.
Sunday, March 23rd
Neighbor Runs Over Mailbox
9:58 a.m. A resident of Mayfair Drive reported that the resident’s mailbox had been knocked over, a few days prior. At the base of the mailbox, the resident found a piece of a car’s back fender with a piece of an identifiable license plate.
Police determined that the owner of the plate was a Westwood resident. Upon being contacted, the resident admitted to running into the mailbox and offered restitution. When police returned to relay the information to the complainant, the complainant was putting the mailbox up again, and declined to pursue the matter further with the neighbor.
Woman Admits to Shoplifting for Lack of Money
4:54 p.m. Police responded to the Target store on University Avenue where asset protection staff reported that a suspect had stuffed unpaid merchandise into reusable Target bags. Police spoke with the shoplifting suspect, a female from Hyde Park, who admitted to taking $165 worth of merchandise because she did not have money to pay for the items. The items were mostly women’s clothing. Police charged the suspect with one count of shoplifting by asportation.
Saturday, March 22nd
Arrest of Driver with Covered FL Plate
3:21 p.m. An officer conducting stationary traffic enforcement observed a white, Chevrolet Impala pass by with a Florida license plate that was covered. Upon making the traffic stop, the driver told police that he had moved from Florida to Massachusetts, and had not yet visited the Registry of Motor Vehicles to obtain a Massachusetts plate.
The officer discovered that the driver had an active warrant for his arrest from Dudley District Court in Massachusetts from 2022 for failure to pay fines and costs. Additionally, the driver informed police that he had in his pocket three 30 mg pills of Percocet.
Police arrested the man on the warrant, and in addition charged him with possessing a Class B drug, subsequent offense, and for driving with a covered license plate. The man was released after paying bail set at $480.
Trespassed for Shoplifting
7:34 p.m. An officer responded to the Target store on University Avenue where an asset protection employee told police she had stopped two females, a resident of Hyde Park and a resident of Brockton, who were concealing store merchandise in bags and attempting to leave without paying. One suspect had attempted to take merchandise valued at $187 and the other attempted to take merchandise valued at $88. Both were apologetic. They were trespassed from the Westwood Target for one year. The were each charged with one count of shoplifting by concealing merchandise.
Friday, March 21st
Roommates Who Shoplift Together
12:38 p.m. An officer was conducting a building check on University Avenue when he noticed an employee of the Target store attempting to get his attention and flag him down. The employee was pointing to a male who was walking toward the officer.
The officer asked the male why the store employee had pointed him out, and the suspect was cooperative and agreed to return to the store office.
The employee told police that she observed the suspect with another male putting merchandise worth $233 into a cart and then observed the suspect attempt to exit the store with the cart without paying. The employee blocked his way, and the suspect left the cart and proceeded to walk out of the store.
On confrontation with police, the suspect admitted to attempting to steal merchandise, and identified the second suspect as his roommate. The two Norwood residents were each charged with one count of shoplifting.
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Thursday, March 20th
Removing Cancelled License Plates
11:27 a.m. An officer was in the area of the Budget Inn on Providence Highway when the officer noticed a black, Ford Escape with a Massachusetts license plate that had been cancelled in June 2024. The officer proceeded to remove the plate from the car. As the officer was doing so, a young male approached and told the officer that he was the brother of the owner of the car, who had purchased the vehicle one month ago. The officer informed him that the plate was cancelled and would be seized. The plate was entered into evidence.
Wednesday, March 19th
Police Arrest Fleeing Suspect
1:49 p.m. Police responded to a report of a suspected shoplifter fleeing the CVS store on Washington Street in a grey Toyota Camry with Georgia registration. Police located a car matching the description and spoke to the driver, a 23 year old man from Mattapan. The man denied taking anything from the store, but an employee reported that the man had put four digital thermometers into a bag and placed the bag into his sweatshirt.
Police recovered the merchandise, worth $286, and arrested the man, who is suspected of several cases of past shoplifting. He was charged with one count of shoplifting for this incident.
Passenger Injured in Two-Car Collision
10:36 p.m. A brown, Honda CRV was travelling east on High Street toward Dedham, while a grey, Acura RDX was travelling west on High Street , when the Honda failed to yield while turning left onto Summer Street, crashing into the Acura.
A passenger of the Acura, a Westwood resident, was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham with minor injuries. A passenger of the Honda complained of minor chest pains but declined medical attention. Police cited the driver of the Honda, a resident of Wellesley, for failing to yield on a left turn.
Monday, March 17th
Arrest for Tampering with Price Tags
12:47 p.m. Police were summoned to Target for a shoplifting in progress. Upon arrival, police observed a man changing price tags on merchandise with tags which he had concealed in his sleeves. He is believed to have tampered with the price tags on a $199 breast pump, $25 container of Tide detergent and a $15 curtain rod.
The suspect, a 45 year old man, is suspected of multiple past incidents of shoplifting merchandise worth a total of over $2,300 from the same store. He was trespassed from all Target store locations in the country, and arrested for shoplifting by tampering.
Well-being Check
10:03 p.m. A caller requested that police check on a sister-in-law in Westwood. The report was that the ex-husband stood on the porch of the residence, and drove by the home, stopping to look at it. Police responded to the area, and all appeared well.
Thanks to Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
