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2-08-2022 8:21pm
Police Log: Hit and Run, Vanishing Vendor, Ambulance Accident and More
Darlene Cancell
Editor
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, January 31, 2022
Hit and run on Clapboardtree Street
3:25 p.m. A resident of Whitney Avenue reported a hit and run motor vehicle crash near 216 Clapboardtree Street that occurred about an hour earlier. The resident was on Clapboardtree Street headed toward Pond Street when an SUV coming from the opposite direction swiped the driver side mirror on the resident’s car.
A police officer observed that the sideview mirror was smashed off, but there was no other evidence to identify the SUV, such as paint transfer. The resident will use the police report for insurance purposes.
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Phone scam targets elderly resident for thousands
3:26 p.m. Police were dispatched to Needham Bank on the report of a telephone scam. They met with the bank manager and an elderly customer. The customer, a Westwood resident, had been attempting to withdraw an amount of cash in five figures, after a caller directed her to send $19,000 to clear up what the caller said were two fraudulent charges made from Hong Kong.
The police detective requested the customer call the scammer back in the detective’s presence. The customer did so, telling the scammer she had the cash in hand. The scammer told her to go to a local ATM/bitcoin wallet. Police advised the customer that this was a scam and that no fraudulent transactions were made in her name. The bank placed watches on her account.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Facebook Marketplace vendor vanishes after Venmo payment
10:30 a.m. A resident of High Street reported being victim to a Facebook Marketplace scam. The resident sent payment by Venmo to a seller of a fire pit at the end of December 2021. Within the next day or so, the advertisement for the fire pit and the identification of the seller on Facebook Marketplace disappeared. The resident made multiple attempts to contact the seller without any luck. Management at Venmo is looking into the complaint as a possible fraudulent advertisement.
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Alarming call for help
1:15 p.m. Police responded to a Dartmouth Street business's report of a suspicious phone call. While conducting its hiring process, the company called an applicant on his private phone. A male answered who said, “Help me, help me! I’m being held in a basement.” The location of the phone call was traced to Weymouth.
Weymouth Police were contacted and sent a cruiser to the address associated with the phone number. An older man was at the address and nothing appeared to be amiss. If investigation continues, it will be by Weymouth Police, as the location is in their jurisdiction.
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Jeep cuts-off ambulance, then crashes into it
5:55 p.m. An ambulance and a black, 2014 Jeep were on Upland Road in Norwood, headed northbound toward Westwood. The ambulance was transporting a patient to Beth Israel Deaconess Needham. It had activated both its lights and siren.
The ambulance approached the left-turn lane at the intersection of Upland Road and Washington Street, intending to go around traffic to continue straight to Clapboardtree Street into Westwood. The Jeep, however, reportedly cut-off the ambulance, jumping ahead of it in the left-turn lane. The ambulance attempted to go around the Jeep on the right to continue straight to Clapboardtree Street. The Jeep also attempted to travel straight, although it was in the left-turn lane. The Jeep hit the ambulance.
The ambulance continued on its way, transporting its patient to the hospital. The driver of the Jeep, a 39 year-old woman from Norwood, claimed she was in the right-hand lane when the ambulance tried to go around the right side of the Jeep. The crash is being investigated.
Friday, February 4, 2022
Trespassing neighbor
3:45 p.m. A female resident of Sunrise Road called police to report a neighbor trespassing on her property. Police discovered that the neighbor, also a resident of Sunrise Road, had a warrant out for his arrest. Upon arriving at the residence, police took the 33 year-old man into custody. Around 6:10 p.m., the man was released on bail of $240.
A different version of the Grandchild in Jail Scam
5:33 p.m. Police were dispatched to a home on Forbes Road to take a report of identity theft. The resident told police that she received a call from someone identifying himself as “Jim Thompson” who was able to provide her social security number and name. The caller told the woman that there was a warrant for her arrest in San Antonio Texas, related to an incident with a bloody car and 22 pounds of cocaine.
The resident hung up, recognizing the call as a scam. She was advised to contact her banks and credit agencies and to put watches on all her accounts.
Contractor harasses resident for payment
6:59 p.m. Harassment by a contractor was reported by a resident of Smith Drive. The resident told police that he was searching for a contractor to do work on out of state property. He had preliminary discussions with a contractor from New Hampshire.
Following those discussions, the contractor made multiple calls to the resident, demanding to be paid for driving to look at the property. The resident reported the harassment to local New Hampshire police who referred the complainant to Westwood Police.
The resident has taken steps to block the phone number of the unwanted caller and is creating a record of the harassment.
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Health-conscious thief
1:06 p.m. A loss prevention representative of Wegmans walked into the police station to pass along a file containing information regarding theft of health related items worth $2,419. The loss prevention agent had become aware of vitamin pills missing from store inventory on February 3, 2022.
Internal video tape showed a male removing the items from the store and leaving without paying. He was observed coming into the store with a reusable shopping bag and filling it with vitamins and health and beauty items. The suspect had a big head of curly hair, a mask, and was wearing a puffy, black colored The North Face jacket.
The complaint has been passed to the Detective Bureau for follow-up.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
