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12-30-2021 10:37pm
Police Log: iPhones Missing from Deliveries, School Vandalism, Another Locker Room Theft
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, December 20, 2021
Vandalism in high school teachers' parking lot
11:16 a.m. Damage was reported to a motor vehicle in the teachers’ parking lot at Westwood High School. The vehicle was heavily scratched on the driver-side rear door. The scratch appeared to be intentional. The owner of the vehicle, an employee of the high school, reported that the vehicle is normally parked in a garage overnight without outside access. The scratching, therefore, likely happened in the day in the teacher’s parking lot.
iPhone missing from delivery package
6:03 p.m. A police officer was dispatched to a home on Everett Street to take a report of items being removed from a delivery package. The resident had arrived at home a short time earlier to find an open and empty package on the front stoop. The missing contents were an iPhone 13 and a set of Apple air tags, totaling approximately $1,200 in value. Police canvassed the surrounding homes for surveillance cameras but did not find any.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Assisting transfer of packages between homeowners
1:13 a.m. A resident of Thatcher Street came to the police station to drop off two packages addressed to the previous owner of the resident’s house. The previous day, the former owner had reported difficulty to police in obtaining the packages. The new owner also reported reaching out of the previous owner to make arrangements for pickup which did not happen for reasons unknown to police. Police arranged for the new resident to drop off the packages at the police station for safekeeping.
Another case of iPhones missing from delivery packages
7:34 a.m. Police responded to a private residence on Porter Street regarding a report of stolen items. Three packages had been delivered to the home the previous day. Two of them were empty. The empty packages were each missing an iPhone 13, for an approximate total loss of $2,000. A detective is investigating with the cooperation of UPS.
Fraudulent check-writing
4:33 p.m. A resident of Morgan Farm Road reported that her recent bank statement showed a check for $9,400 had been cashed, but she did not write the check. She had informed her bank and closed the account. The bank informed her that it appeared the check had been processed to a New York law firm. An initial search by police for the law firm did not find any such firm. The woman noted her belief that she and her husband had been victims of identity theft last year.
Vandalism over a parking dispute
8:08 p.m. Police were dispatched to the Target parking lot in University Station to take a report of property damage that was alleged to result as the result of a dispute. Two people had argued over the rights to a parking space. When one party, a woman from Dedham, exited the store, she found that the side mirror on her parked vehicle had been damaged.
The Dedham woman told police that she had seen a person get out of the other vehicle involved in the parking dispute. The person went up to the side of the vehicle owned by the Dedham woman. Police reviewed security video from Target and observed a person exiting a black sedan and going to the side of her vehicle. The black sedan matched the woman’s description of the other party involved in the parking dispute. However, the video was not clear enough to provide a positive identification of the vehicle.
Around the same time of this report, police received another call of a man in a black sedan spitting on another vehicle, but a search of the parking lot did not find anyone matching his description.
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Assisting a missing persons investigation
3:43 a.m. Westwood officers responded to a request for investigative assistance from the Holbrook Police Department, regarding a missing person investigation. A woman had fled a Holbrook residence, inappropriately dressed for the weather, with the possible intent to commit self-harm. The investigation continued until around 6:00 a.m. when the woman returned to her home in Holbrook.
Where plumbing and law enforcement meet
10:29 a.m. A resident of Westland Avenue reported to police suspicions that his new oil company had oversold him oil by about 50 to 60 gallons, based on the resident’s calculation of the amount of oil that could fit in his oil tank.
The responding officer also had experience as a master plumber, and was able to determine that the tank was not a 250 gallon tank as the resident believed, but a 275 gallon tank. The officer was able to demonstrate the resident’s miscalculation was based on the inaccurate assessment of the tank’s capacity. The officer recommended that the resident upgrade his oil tank for one with a better gauge that is more accurate.
Identity theft in Medfield
10:39 a.m. A man residing on Woodridge Road in Medfield reported a case of identity theft to Westwood Police. He became aware of the problem through a letter that was sent to him at his relative’s address in Westwood. The letter contained a notice from Cambridge Savings Bank, stating that an account in his name had been overdrawn. The resident also received correspondence from a payment processing company showing a multi-thousand dollar sale from him, but the sale was not reflected in his personal or business accounts.
The Medfield resident investigated and learned that a bank account and credit card had been opened using his personal information and his relative’s Westwood address. He has inactivated his accounts and placed a watch on his credit with credit reporting agencies. At this time, he does not appear to have lost any money.
Disorderly customer?
2:13 p.m. A supervisor at PhysicianOne Urgent Care on University Avenue complained of a disorderly customer. The supervisor told police that a customer had come in for a medical test and had become disorderly. The customer was reported to be shouting and placing hands on the supervisor.
Police interviewed the customer who denied it all. The incident was resolved when customer and a companion left the area to seek testing at another facility.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Last minute Christmas shop...lifting
4:00 p.m. The manager of CVS on Washington Street reported shoplifting that had occurred earlier that day. A female had filled a shopping cart with toys and merchandise and had run out of the store with out paying. She entered a white Porsche SUV. The manager was able to provide a license plate number and will be providing security footage to police.
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Software glitch creates false tracking notice
8:58 p.m. Police responded to a report of suspicious activity from Briar Lane. The complaining party said he had received notice on his iPhone that it was being tracked by an unknown device. He had searched his personal effects and vehicle for an Apple Airtag or a similar tracking device. He was unable to find one.
Police determined that a recent software update by Apple had caused a glitch in the Find My iPhone application, resulting in false notice of tracking to users.
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Locker room theft . . . definitely a pattern now
6:58 a.m. A Westwood resident reported having his watch stolen from a locker at Lifetime Fitness while working out. It was a Rolex, worth approximately $18,000.
This report follows a number of thefts that Westwood Minute has earlier reported on, occurring in the Lifetime Fitness locker room. A number of the thefts have involved Rolex watches.
Lt. Sheehy has previously noted that thieves have learned to exploit a weakness in lockers used by local gyms. He recommends that gym-goers stash valuables in their cars, bring a lock to use in the locker room, or carry valuables in a fanny pack or a gym bag which can accompany the person on workouts.
To read more about the previously reported locker room thefts, click on the story links provided below this article.
Purloined perfumes
7:27 p.m. The manager of Ulta Beauty in University Station reported a shoplifting incident that occurred about 15 to 20 minutes earlier that day. Two females had entered the store and put multiple high-end fragrances in a shopping basket and exited without paying. The items were worth approximately $1,500.
Ulta was able to provide security camera footage that showed two females, one in a sweatshirt with red pants, and one in a brown jacket with light blue jeans. Target also provided security video footage which showed one of the individuals entering a black SUV.
Monday, December 27, 2021
Being tracked by an Airtag
1:41 p.m. A resident of East Street reported receiving alerts on her iPhone that her location could be seen by the owner of an Airtag. The notice included a map showing the route she had driven from one location to another. She was unable to find any Airtag on her vehicle.
The responding officer informed her that a software update to Apple was causing glitches in Apple’s iPhone tracking application. The officer advised her to take her phone to the store to see if the software update was causing the notice.
The resident also planned to take her vehicle to an auto repair shop to have a thorough search conducted on it for an Airtag. She planned to contact police with the results.
Telltale tattoo
3:39 p.m. An officer spoke to the head of asset protection at Target, who reported a theft that occurred on November 12, 2021. A man left the store with three shopping carts of merchandise, without paying. He was confronted by store employees, and abandoned two of the carts. However, he fled in a vehicle, taking the contents of the third cart. The items stolen were food and two high end vacuums, worth approximately a total of $1,041.
The perpetrator was able to be identified by Target staff due to a distinctive tattoo. He was known to staff from different Target stores in the area because he had committed similar types of acts at the other stores. He is a man from Hanover, and police will charge him with a criminal complaint for larceny under $1,200.
Taking advantage of a traveller
10:59 p.m. A 43 year-old man from Chapel Hill, North Carolina met police in front of Target at University Station to report the theft of his black duffle bag from an Amtrak train at the Route 128 Station.
While talking to another passenger, he had put down his bag. At the end of the conversation, he noticed it was missing. He searched the train and the platform, but the bag was nowhere to be seen. After speaking with police, he planned to continue his trip into Boston, without his bag.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Broken windows at Sheehan
3:59 p.m. A Westwood resident reported seeing two broken windows on the second and third floors of the Sheehan School, while taking a walk earlier that day. The broken windows were south-facing, and the resident reported rocks in the area which may have been thrown at the windows. Police relayed the information to the school’s facility manager who planned to investigate the next day.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
