6-07-2025 12:19am

Police Log: Assault and Battery with Stun Gun in Road Rage Incident, Female Attempts Escape from Car, and Other Stories

Darlene Cancell Editor

Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.

The news described in this installment of 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 to Westwood Minute through written records and conversations. Occasionally, Westwood Minute may weave a few facts that it obtains from other sources into these stories.

Sunday, May 25th

Shoplifter Plans for Snack, Coffee, and Sleep

4:05 p.m. Police met with asset protection staff at the Target store on University Avenue, and learned that around 3:38 p.m., a man had taken groceries (seasoning, cheese, Coffee mate, tortillas), a comforter, and bedding to the self-checkout register, but was suspected of skipping the scanning of some of the items. Video appeared to also show that items were not scanned. Police advised the suspect, a male from Wrentham, that he would receive a summons for shoplifting.

Lamb Lover

6:10 p.m. Police were summoned to Wegmans supermarket on University Avenue for a shoplifting in progress, where a male suspect was observed concealing raw meat in his black backpack. Upon being approached, he fled out of the store toward the nearby Panera eatery. The items taken included lamb loin, ribs, and trim, whole pork shoulders, packaged bacon, and ground lamb, totaling $168. Police have not yet obtained his identification.

Female Restrained after Attempting Escape from Car

7:15 p.m. Police responded to Fire Station 2 on Washington Street, upon the report of a passerby who observed a female trying to escape from inside a car, and a male preventing her exit. The vehicle was described as a white SUV with an out-of-state license plate, which had pulled off the road, at the fire station.

Firefighters directed police to a man and woman, who were seated at the bus stop in front of the fire department. Police observed that the female appeared distressed as if she had recently been crying. She had a red face and smelled strongly of alcohol.

Upon speaking with the two, police learned that the man was the woman’s father. They had been at a party in Westwood with the woman’s husband and four children, and she had cried at the party after having a dispute with her husband. She had decided to leave, and her father was driving her home, because she was intoxicated. When she tried to jump out of the car, he had tried to prevent her from leaving.

An Uber ride was called, and it transported her from the fire station to her residence in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

Mailboxes, Street Sign Hit by Passing Car

11:25 p.m. Police received a report of three mailboxes and a sign being struck at the 1300 block of High Street. A crash was heard, and a silver Volvo was seen driving past, which may have been involved in the incident. The “Left Lane Must Turn Left” sign at the intersection of High and Pond streets was reported to have been struck.

Saturday, May 24th

Woman Suspected of Shoplifting, Accompanied by 1-Year Old

6:39 p.m. Police responded to the Target store on University Avenue where asset protection staff reported that a female had stolen tee shirts, bedding, and other clothing and household items worth $156. The woman, a 32 year-old from Quincy, remained in the store with asset protection, with her 1 year-old son. Police charged her with one count of shoplifting by concealment.

Friday, May 23rd

No Consent to Contract

8:49 a.m. A resident of Rock Meadow Road complained to police about a salesperson from a pest control company who allegedly tricked his wife into signing a two-year contract for services. The company representative reportedly presented the resident’s wife with a digital form and asked her to sign it to receive more information on the company’s services. The next day, the resident’s wife reportedly received a copy of an executed two-year contract from the company, not just information as represented.

The resident told police he was able to cancel the contract within the 24 hour allowable period, and he wrote a review of the company which reflected poorly on it. The sales person then texted the residents, informing them that they had ruined her business.

The resident was concerned about the sales person returning, and about his elderly neighbors falling prey to the scam. He noted that the contract was difficult to cancel, and there was no local office for the company. The sales person had not responded to police attempts to contact her, and she appears to lack a permit to solicit.

Fleeing Suspect Leaves Cart, Takes Baby Monitor

4:58 p.m. Staff from the Target store on University Avenue reported that a male suspect had stolen a $250 baby monitor. The suspect reportedly entered the store, and was observed going to the electronics area where he grabbed miscellaneous merchandise. When staff attempted to apprehend him, he left a shopping cart of merchandise, but fled with the baby monitor.

Pesky Pest Control Salesperson

8:46 p.m. Police received a complaint of a sales person on Green Hill Road, who was selling pest control. Upon investigating, police discovered that the man had a permit from the Town of Dover, but lacked any record of a permit being issued to him from the Town of Westwood. He was advised to stop soliciting in Westwood without a permit.

Suspicious Door-to-Door Salespeople

9:38 p.m. Police received a complaint of two suspicious men parked on a driveway of a home on Mill Brook Road. The residents reported having problems with door-to-door salespeople in the neighborhood. One of the homeowners allegedly shined a flashlight into the suspicious visitors’ car, upon which the car with the two parties immediately left. A photo that the resident provided to police from a doorbell camera revealed that one of the two suspicious men was the same individual whom police questioned an hour earlier on Green Hill Road, who did not have any permit to solicit in Westwood.

Thursday, May 22nd

Strange Caller and a Fabricated Story

2:27 p.m. Police received a report of a suspicious call to the Westwood Town Clerk’s office from a female in Illinois, asking about getting a marriage license. The caller informed staff that she was going to marry a high ranking military officer who had grown up in Westwood. The Town Clerk reached out to the military member’s family, which informed her that they had no connection with the caller.

Police investigated and learned that a person by the same name as the caller was involved in a romance scam in Shawnee, Kansas, in which a victim sent $26,000 to the fraudster, allegedly to assist a high ranking military officer in moving his financial portfolio from Kansas to the United States. A Westwood detective contacted the caller, and was told that she had messaged the officer and had sent two videos to him, but had never met him in person. Police determined that at least some of the story told by the caller was a fabrication, as it included people and addresses that do not exist.

Wednesday, May 21st

Assault and Battery with Stun Gun in Road Rage Incident

3:30 p.m. Police responded to the parking lot outside Chipotle restaurant on University Avenue on the report of a possible road rage incident. Upon arriving, police spoke with the driver of a blue Subaru, a Westwood resident who reported that while stopped at a crosswalk on University Avenue, a black Toyota Highlander drove around her vehicle and cut her off, and then proceeded to follow her into the parking lot where the other driver got out of his vehicle and screamed at her.

The report of from the man driving the Highlander, along with a witness who captures part of the incident on video, contradicted the Westwood resident’s account. They told police that the female driver walked to the Highlander while carrying a pink stun gun, and leaned into the Highlander’s window to place the stun gun by the driver’s face while yelling at him, as his children watched in the back seat of the vehicle. The witness stated that the male driver never exited his vehicle and that the only aggressor was the female.

Police spoke with the male driver with the assistance of his 12 year-old son, who acted as translator. Police learned that the man, a 60 year-old resident of Dedham, admitted to driving around the Subaru, and reported that when he did so, the woman driving the Subaru gave him the middle finger and called him racist names. She reportedly followed his car into the shopping plaza, swearing, and making insulting hand gestures. The male driver reportedly followed her vehicle to the Chipotle parking lot to learn what the problem was. At that point, she reportedly exited the car, yelled at him, and contacted his face with the stun gun, giving him an electric shock. The man reported suffering blurred vision in his left eye, although police observed no physical marks. Westwood Fire paramedics were summoned, and the man was transported to the hospital.

Nude Photo of Victim Circulated after Unsuccessful Extortion Attempt

6:26 p.m. Police received a report of extortion from a Westwood resident, who was accompanied at the police station with his father. The resident told police that someone sent a nude photo of him, which partially showed his face, in a group text of nine people that included his father, relatives, and a number of unrecognizable phone numbers.

Shortly before that text, the victim had received a message requesting $900 be sent to the sender. The victim did not send any money, and the embarrassing group text followed.

The victim told police that the photo was available to multiple people on one or more dating applications, and that the sender may have obtained his phone number through those apps. Police advised the complainant to block the unknown phone numbers.

Tuesday, May 20th

Supporting Manfield’s Anniversary Celebration

9:00 a.m. Westwood Police provided mutual aid to the Town of Mansfield, assisting with the town’s 250th anniversary celebration by providing services for traffic and crowd control.

Missing Ice Melt

10:29 a.m. A resident of Lorraine Road reported that a bucket of ice melt was missing from the resident’s driveway, and requested an extra check of the area.

One Thing Leads to Another

9:59 p.m. Upon observing a white Mazda without headlights on University Avenue, police made a traffic stop. A check of the vehicle’s registration revealed that the owner had a warrant for his arrest from Haverhill District Court of operating a motor vehicle after license suspension and speeding. The driver, a 57 year-old man from Weymouth, was arrested.

Thanks to Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.