Police Log: Arrest for Drug Possession, Repeat Offenders and More

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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.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Shoplifter aborts plan

2:45 p.m. Police received a report of a shoplifting in progress at Marshalls.  Staff described observing one woman concealing merchandise and holding a device that appeared to be for disabling security tags. When she noticed she was being watched, she placed the merchandise back on the shelves and left the store. Two other women, apparently connected to the first, also left the store shortly after the first. The suspects left before police arrived. Police made a report at the request of Marshalls, to create a record in the event that the women should return to the store.

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Police identify repeat Target shoplifter

7:37 a.m. Police responded to a report of a shoplifting at Target. Employees recognized the suspect, a woman, from previous shoplifting incidents. Before police arrived, the woman drove away in a grey Volkswagen Jetta. Police searched, but were unable to locate it. Police spoke to Target’s loss prevention personnel, who provided a license plate number. Police used the plate number to identify the suspect, a woman from Sharon. Police will be reviewing written reports compiled by the store’s employees and will review security footage. Combined with previous incidents, the woman was suspected of stealing around $270 total in merchandise. The case will be sent to detectives and police anticipate fining a criminal complaint.

Vandalized mail box on Winter Street

8:26 a.m. Police received a complaint from a resident on Winter Street that damage had been done to a mailbox and a granite mounting post. The mailbox appeared to have been struck by an unknown object and tilted over.

One thing leads to another

8:21 p.m. A police officer conducting stationary traffic enforcement on Providence Highway near Glacier Drive observed a Honda Civic traveling southbound at an excessive speed. Radar clocked the car at 72 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. speed limit zone. The officer stopped the driver and learned that she had a warrant for failing to appear before Westborough District Court on a motor vehicle offense. The 22 year-old woman from East Boston was arrested on the warrant and issued a warning for speeding. She was later released on personal recognizance.

Erratic man arouses suspicion

10:29 p.m. Police responded to Target where a suspicious person was observed pacing back and forth outside, in front of the store. He appeared to be wearing multiple pairs of pants and jackets and had stuffed multiple items in his pockets and pants. He was acting erratically. When asked, told varying stories of what he was doing and how he arrived there. Eventually, he admitted to taking a variety of items without paying. He had taken seventeen packages of batteries, two Bluetooth speakers, earphones, a man’s belt, a multitool, two pocket knives, a set of Bluetooth earbuds, a man’s watch, socks, a bathrobe and jacket. The merchandise together was worth over $600. He was not arrested but will be receiving a summons for larceny.

Home safe after a long night out

11:49 p.m. A resident of Porter Street reported that his grandson was overdue from returning from Boston. He was last seen around noon, and could not be reached by his cell phone. Around 9:30 a.m. the following day, the grandson called the police station to report that he was home safe.

Friday, April 8, 2022

Identity theft for unemployment insurance

4:30 p.m. A resident of Mayfair Drive reported receiving a tax bill on $41,000 that had reportedly been paid to someone using his identity for unemployment benefits. Along with filing a police report, he notified his employer, the department of Unemployment Assistance, his credit card companies and bank.

Misuse of handicap placard

5:24 p.m. A police officer conducting handicap parking enforcement at University Station noticed a blue Chevy Malibu parked in a handicapped space. The registered owner of the car was not the same as the registered owner of the handicap placard on display in the car. A short time later, woman entered the car. The officer approached and conversed with her. The woman claimed that the placard belonged to an individual for whom she is a caregiver, but her charge was not with her at the time. Eventually, the woman admitted that the placard belonged to her friend’s husband. She claimed that she had a serious medical condition of her own. Police confiscated the placard and will attempt to return it to its owner. Police advised the woman to obtain her own handicap placard.

Motorcyclist injured upon losing control of bike

6:01 p.m. A motorcyclist lost control of his bike when it encountered sand that had accumulated on the side of the road and extended into the travel lane. The rider sustained serious injury to his right leg. He was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston by Westwood Fire Paramedics.

One thing leads to another. . . and another

7:41 p.m. A police officer conducting stationary traffic enforcement on University Avenue ran a plate query on a passing car. The officer discovered that the vehicle’s owner had a suspended license and made the traffic stop. Upon conversing with the driver, the officer learned that the driver was not the owner but he had a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear before Brockton District Court on an assault and battery charge. When arresting him and conducting a search, the officer discovered several plastic baggies containing white power. The driver, a man from Brockton, claimed that they contained fentanyl. The officer transported him to the Police Station. Bail was set at personal recognizance. He was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle because his driver’s license had expired and unlawful possession of a Class B substance.

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Senior scam averted with alert caregiver

3:57 p.m. A young adult caregiver of a senior citizen who resides at Westwood Glen reported that the senior was purchasing cell phones to be sent to an online friend in Jamaica. The scheme was interrupted and no phones were sent. The company that sold the phones to the senior agreed to take them back and clear the account, upon receiving a police report regarding the fraud.

Repeat offender in the space of two hours

6:37 p.m. An officer conducting handicap parking enforcement in the University Station parking lot noticed that a grey Mercedes, parked in a handicap space at Target. 

About two hours earlier, the same officer had encountered this same Mercedes parked in a handicap space in front of the Marshalls at University Station. At that time, officer left the driver a citation for parking in a handicap space without a handicap placard. 

When the officer again encountered the parked car again, a few hours later outside Target, a handicap placard was on display this time. However, the officer noted that the placard was registered to a senior citizen, but the car was registered to a 28 year-old woman. A woman entered the vehicle and she told the officer that she “just uses it [the handicap placard] sometimes.” The officer confiscated the placard and gave the woman a civil citation for misuse of a handicap placard.

Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.