Police Blotter: Motor Vehicle Arrests, Suspicious Activity, B&E, Animal Complaints

The following incidents, selected from the Lexington Police Department logs, occurred during the week prior to April 23, 2023.

Motor Vehicle Arrests
Monday, April 17 at 1:55 a.m., Report of a two-car crash at the intersection of Old Mass Ave. and Marrett Road came in. Lawrence resident Harrison J Myler was taken into custody for operating under the influence of liquor. Myler declined his right to have an independent examination by a physician. Instead, he chose to submit to a chemical breath test to determine his blood alcohol concentration.

Mylar, the operator of vehicle 1, was transported to the station to be booked on various MV violations. Due to the extensive damage from the crash, one officer remained on the scene to wait for Mal’s to tow both vehicles.

Friday, April 21 at 2:40 p.m., James J Lambert IV was arrested on multiple charges including several warrants, and was transported to the station without incident.

As a result of the motor vehicle stop, Lambert was arrested and issued a Massachusetts uniform citation for the following offenses: operating after suspension of license, license not in his possession, and a U-Turn violation.

An officer conducting traffic enforcement at the intersection of Mass Ave. and Wallace Court observed a black Jeep SUV crossing all four lanes of traffic and performing a U-turn in order to travel westbound through Lexington Center. This officer followed the vehicle and observed Lambert proceeding straight in a clearly marked left-only lane which caused the vehicle with the right of way to abruptly brake to avoid a collision.

The officer followed the vehicle until finding a safe location for conducting a motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Bedford Street and Harrington Road. When asked for a license and registration, the driver stated he did not have his license, but he was the registered owner. After verifying the Registry of Motor Vehicle information, the photograph did not match Lambert. He was asked to provide an “accurate and true” name. The driver identified himself as James Lambert IV.

Upon further investigation and inquiry, Lambert was charged with 7 motor vehicle offenses. In addition, the Warrant Management System showed 9 active warrants. Lambert was taken into custody.

Suspicious Activity—Persons
Sunday, April 23 at 9:55 a.m., a citizen called to report a male in his 50s had taken off his shirt near the Battle Green. Two more calls reported the same information adding that the individual had taken off his pants and was throwing rocks at cars. Officers checked the area and spoke to people in the area, but were unable to locate an individual fitting this description.

Dispute—Civil
Thursday, April 20 at 10:30 a.m., a Grove Street resident called regarding landscapers trespassing on his property. An officer spoke with this caller who reported a landscape crew trespassed on his property when cleaning lawns on Jefferson Drive. The officer spoke with the crew and advised them regarding the complaint.

Burglary—Breaking and Entering
Sunday, April 23 at 6:40 p.m., a Preston Street resident reported her house had been broken into while she and her family were out of town. Two officers checked the house, and a detective arrived to process the scene. The reporting party said he and his family had been out of state on a trip and upon arriving home they noticed the dining room window was wide open. Residents found the upstairs ransacked. The officer canvassed the area for cameras but given the timeline this incident occurred; he was unable to find any helpful footage. No neighbors reported any suspicious activity or anything out of the ordinary.

Animal Control/Complaint
Tuesday, April 18 at 7:05 a.m., a Woburn Street resident called to report his neighbor’s dogs were jumping the fence and landing on his property. The dog would go to his back porch and bark. At no time did the dogs behave aggressively toward anyone. Officers spoke to the owner of the dogs and advised him of the complaint. The owner stated he would bring the dogs inside. The resident was advised and satisfied with this solution.

Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m., officers heading out on patrol located a loose pitbull in the back of the police station. The dog had no tags, so officers took the dog to the pound. Meanwhile, the owner of the dog called the station to report he was missing his dog. The caller’s description matched that of the loose dog. The owner reported that he had let his dog out behind the Knights of Columbus on Bedford Street to relieve itself. The officer drove the dog back to the station where he was reunited with his owner.

Sunday, April 23 at 8:30 p.m., a caller reports an injured animal in the area of Minuteman Tech. Upon arrival, officers encountered a severely injured goose. An officer put the goose down with one round, and the shell casing was retrieved. They left the goose in the wood line off Marrett Road between Cranberry Hill and Minuteman Tech.

Fraud
Tuesday, April 18 at 4:50 p.m., a Philip Road resident walked into the police station to report that he had received a letter from the IRS on March 29, 2023, regarding a fraudulent attempt to file for the 2022 tax season. He informed the officer that on April 13 he had spoken to the IRS who was in the process of investigating the matter. The IRS representative gave him a “control number and letter” for identification. He told the officer he had not yet filed his 2022 tax returns, and the IRS informed him that he would be receiving a pin number every year to help secure his information in the future. This resident was told to contact the IRS and the Lexington Police Department if anything changed.

Tuesday, April 18 at 7:25 p.m., a Woburn Street resident came to the station to report that she had written a business check in the amount of $326 intended as a tax payment to the IRS. The check was removed from a United States Post Office mailbox and was altered with the fraudulent amount of $9700.66. An attempt to cash this check was declined. This matter is currently under investigation.

Wednesday, April 19 at 11:25 a.m., a Solomon Pierce Road resident came into the station to report that a personal check was stolen and washed. She originally wrote the check on April 8 to Eversource in the amount of $397.82. It was mailed in the post box on Mass Ave. between the Post Office and Town Hall. The washed check, in the amount of $10,437.01 was reported to Brookline Bank who closed the account and reimbursed her loss.

Wednesday, April 19 at 9:30 p.m., a Compton Circle resident called to report a scam that occurred earlier in the day. An officer spoke with this resident who reports she was attempting to buy a ticket for a flight to Scotland and clicked on a phony link. She was swindled into buying illegitimate flight tickets. She contacted Cambridge Savings Bank on Wednesday, April 19 and reported the fraudulent charge. Cambridge Savings Bank was able to stop the transaction before there was any monetary loss from the account. An officer advised her not to answer further emails or phone calls from these individuals.

Saturday, April 22 at 11:55 am., a Ward Street resident came to the station to report an unknown party had opened a line of credit through Bank of America using his identity. He has since spoken with Bank of America and the line of credit has been closed and there is currently no monetary loss. He was advised to follow up with the credit reporting bureaus.

Facts from AARP’s Fraud Watch from the March 2023 issue of the AARP Bulletin.

Six Ways to Foil Check Washers
#2 Deliver your mail to a post office. The US Postal Inspection Service recommends: “Don’t leave envelopes containing checks in your own mailbox or in an outdoor USPS collection box after the last pickup time. Best bet: take your letter to your nearest post office during business hours and either hand it to a clerk or slide it through an outgoing mail slot inside the building.

The Lexington Police Department updates its incident log on Monday mornings. LexObserver coverage represents a sampling of significant incidents and is not an exhaustive list. The full log can be viewed publicly at: https://www.lexingtonma.gov/489/Weekly-Police-Logs.