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Image by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell.
12-29-2025 12:06am
Police Log: Suspect Hospitalized after Ingesting Bottle of Tylenol, Drunk Driving Arrest and Other Stories
Darlene Cancell
Editor
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 facts that it obtains from other sources into these stories.
Monday, December 15th
Antisemitic Graffiti at Westwood High School
Police responded to Westwood High School following a report of vandalism in the form of swastikas drawn in pencil on two desks in a classroom. For more information on this incident, read Westwood Minute's article, Westwood High School, Police Investigate Swastika Graffiti Discovered on First Day of Hanukkah.
Sunday, December 14th
Missing AirPods Recovered
11:03 a.m. A Florida resident contacted police regarding missing AirPods, which the complainant had tracked to an address on Sandy Valley Road in Westwood. The complainant told police that a friend had recently visited that address. Police visited the residence and spoke with a male who told police that he had been with several people while riding in a car, and that the AirPods might be the vehicle. A search of the vehicle found nothing. The individual then checked his backpack, where the AirPods were finally found. They were turned over to police.
Shoplifting Suspect Known for Incidents at Stores Across MA
4:23 p.m. Police received a report of suspected shoplifter leaving the Target store on University Avenue in a black SUV. Police were able to identify the suspect through her license plate and noted that she is known and believed to have shoplifted from Target stores throughout the state of Massachusetts.
In this instance, she was observed putting toys in a cart and additional items in her personal bag. She paid for the toys but did not remove the concealed items from her bag, and left the store without paying for items estimated to be worth $44. The suspect was accompanied by a friend, who is believed to have stolen over $300 in merchandise. Police are investigating.
Agitated Dog Bites Owner
4:26 p.m. A resident of Magaletta Drive reported being bitten by his own dog. The owner told police that the dog seemed to be agitated, possibly due to the presence of other dogs in the household. The dog bit the owner while being put into a crate. The animal control officer will follow up.
Found Credit Card
9:35 p.m. A credit card was found in a location along Providence Highway . The finder turned the card over to police for safekeeping.
Saturday, December 13th
Suspicious Text Messages
6:29 p.m. A resident of Pond Street reported a series of suspicious text messages involving his 13-year-old son. The father told police that since late November, his son had been in contact with someone who at first identified as a girl. As the texting continued, the person responding to the son’s texts from the same phone number later identified himself as the girl’s father. The resident was making a record of the unusual communication with police.
Friday, December 12th
Disturbance at Car Dealership
5:51 p.m. Police responded to a complaint of a disturbance at Audi Westwood on Providence Highway. A male was reported to be unruly, yelling, and causing a scene. He had leased a vehicle from the dealership. When confronted by police, the individual denied causing any problem and left.
Wednesday, December 10th
Shoplifting Suspect Hospitalized after Ingesting Bottle of Tylenol
5:31 p.m. Police were summoned to the Target store on University Avenue for a report of shoplifting. Arriving police observed the suspect fall to the ground on the sidewalk near the store’s entrance. The suspect, a 40-year-old woman from Boston, complained of leg and foot pain. Westwood Fire paramedics were summoned.
Staff alleged that the suspect had stolen a little over $200 in clothing, makeup, stationery, office supplies, and food-based decorations.
Police accompanied the suspect to the hospital, where it was determined that she had followed a full bottle of Tylenol in the Target store restroom, after a fight with her boyfriend. The suspect was kept in the hospital overnight for monitoring.
Police arrested the Boston resident and charged her with shoplifting by asportation, third offense. She was discovered to have three warrants for her arrest, all for previous incidents of shoplifting.
Headphones Stolen at Health Club
6:04 p.m. A client of Life Time fitness club on Harvard Street reported having headphones stolen from the second-floor weight room. The complainant reported leaving the headphones near a window at the pickleball court, and that they were missing upon the complainant's return. The headphones are valued at $200.
Tuesday, December 9th
Woman Suspected of Concealing Merchandise in Dog Carrier
6:27 p.m. Police received a report from the Target store on University Avenue regarding a suspected shoplifting. A 34 year-old woman from Leominster is suspected of entering the store with a small dog in a bag, and then using the pet carrier to conceal store merchandise.
She was observed shopping with the dog out of the bag and on a leash. The suspect placed items worth a total of about $400 into the dog carrier, and then exited without paying for the items.
She was arrested by police for shoplifting, and trespassed from the location for two years. The suspect is believed to have taken cosmetics and food including egg nog. When speaking with police she reportedly stated, “I’ve been good. I haven’t shoplifted in over four months.”
Westwood Resident Arrested for Drunk Driving
8:58 p.m. Police responded to the scene of a crash on in the area of Pine Lane and Forest Road, where they found a Jeep Wrangler parked diagonally near 119 Pine Lane. The vehicle appeared to have crashed into a retaining wall and damaged a fire hydrant and the Forest Road street sign, which lay in the yard of 119 Pine Lane. Dirt and tire marks appeared to indicate the driver had backed off of the property’s lawn, before coming to a stop to park on the road.
Police approached the driver who was seated behind the steering wheel. Her speech was described a slurred and incomprehensible. The driver reportedly had a light odor of liquor and small, plastic 180 ml bottles of Sutton Home wine were scattered on the vehicle’s front seat. An empty alcohol bottle lay in the grass on the lawn near the fallen street sign.
Police charged the driver, a 53-yearold Westwood woman, with OUI liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. The driver was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
Monday, December 8th
Keeping the Neighborhood Safe
4:44 p.m. A U.S. Postal Service employee reported a door open at a Burgess Avenue residence. Police investigated and found the residents at home. All was well.
Missing Package is Found
5:42 p.m. A resident of Hartford Street contacted police with the suspicion that a postal worker may have stolen from the resident's mailbox. A short time later, the resident called police again to report that the missing package had been located.
Thanks to Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and Westwood Police Department for sharing information for this Westwood Minute article.
