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12-06-2021 11:23pm
Police Log: Man Driving a Car Chases a Woman on Foot, Identity Theft, and Mistaking a Neighbor for a Thief
Darlene Cancell
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Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The news described in Westwood Minute's Police Log article is primarily based on selected information from the Westwood Police Department's daily log and information provided by Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and police staff. Occasionally, a few facts from other sources may be woven into these stories.
Monday, November 29, 2021
Mediating a noise complaint
12:01 p.m. Police mediated a dispute between two tenants on Westwood Glen Road. One tenant complained of banging and screaming and unreasonable noise from the abutting tenant.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Identity theft I
7:25 a.m. A resident of Lanark Drive reported a case of identity theft to police. He was informed by Bank of America that two credit cards were opened using his information in the middle of November. At the end of November, a few days before filing the report of identity theft with police, Target also contacted him to tell him a credit card had been opened in his name. The resident cancelled all of the cards and does not appear to have lost any money. He has instituted protections to avoid such issues in the future.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Identity theft II
2:09 p.m. A resident of Highview Street reported receiving a bill from a cellular phone service to which he does not subscribe. He was charged $1,000 for a new iPhone which he did not purchase. The resident filed a fraud report with that company and notified credit reporting bureaus.
The resident had signed up for service with his cellular provider a few months earlier. He was told it had experienced a data breach, but he had been assured that his information had not been compromised.
Man driving a car chases a woman on foot
2:44 p.m. A call to police came in from a person in a vehicle at the location of Shell station and Seasons convenience store who witnessed a man in a black Honda Civic chasing a female who was on foot.
Police responded and found the woman, a 30 year-old from Worcester. She was across the street, in the area of the South West Park office space. She was transported to the police station. The woman had difficulty arranging for a ride to Worcester. She left the police station.
Around 4:30 p.m., police received a report of someone in distress. Upon responding, they discovered the same woman in the area of 540 High Street, not far from the police station. Westwood Fire Paramedics transported her to Beth Israel Deaconess Needham for a medical evaluation.
Police determined that the driver, a 31 year-old from Farham Street in Roxbury, was operating under the influence of drugs. He and the woman he was chasing were acquainted with each other. The driver was arrested, transported to the police station, and charged with OUI drugs and possession of a class B drug, which is believed to be cocaine. His car was towed by the town’s contract towing company.
Bail was set at $790, which the man was unable to pay. He was fed a meal and the following morning at 8:30 a.m., police transported him to Dedham District Court.
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Thursday, December 2, 2021
Neighbor mistaken for a thief
10:56 p.m. A resident of Church Street called police to report a suspicious, small, dark sedan in the area. The resident believed the occupants were attempting to break into a neighbor’s house.
Later, the caller corrected the report after recognizing an occupant of the car as a resident of the home in front of which it was parked.
Police arrived to make a check and determined that all was well.
Friday, December 3, 2021
Keep personal information private
1:42 p.m. A resident of Allan Road reported concern about a call in which the resident had provided personal information to a caller. The caller had claimed that the resident had won money.
Lt. Sheehy notes, “The Department recommends never giving personal information over the phone unless they [the caller] is known directly by you.”
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Running a red light on a suspended license
1:29 a.m. A police officer was conducting stationary traffic enforcement on Washington Street when the officer saw a blue minivan run a red light while making a turn onto East Street.
The officer made a traffic stop and learned that the van was registered to someone other than the driver. The man driving the van had his license suspended in November. He denied receiving any suspension notice.
The driver repeatedly asked the officer to be allowed to just drive home to Hyde Park. He was informed that police cannot allow him to drive with a suspended license. The Hyde Park man received a citation for the red light violation and for operating a vehicle on a suspended license.
The man called the van’s owner who arrived 15 minutes later. The vehicle’s owner drove both the van and the man home.
A slew of citations and an injury
5:08 p.m. Police responded to a motor vehicle accident in the area of High Rock and Hartford streets. Upon arrival, they found an injured man, lying in the street. A damaged moped was close by. The moped operator told police he had hit an unknown object in the street. He was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Boston by Westwood Fire Paramedics.
The police learned that the moped had been stolen from Cambridge. They contacted the owner to advise the owner that it had been recovered, damaged.
Additional investigation has yielded the result of a slew of citations to the moped rider, who appears to be a 38 year old man from Brighton. The citations will be issued once positive identification is established. The moped rider will receive citations for receiving a stolen motor vehicle, providing a false name and address, operating a vehicle on a suspended license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, operated an unregistered motor vehicle, and riding without a helmet.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
