Police blotter: Loose dogs and loud kids

The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs during the week before May 22, 2023. This information is not independently verified by The Lexington Observer and does not reflect our reporting or opinion.

Community Relations

Wednesday, May 17 at 8:15 a.m., officers continue to assist the Hastings School program for safe bike riding to school. The Bike Train experience reminds and encourages students to learn and follow the rules of the road that keep them safe.

Thursday, May 18 at 1:00 p.m., at Lexington High School, a detective and the Police Department clinician presented an introduction to law enforcement careers.

Friday, May 19 at 9:25 a.m., officers attended the Friends of the Lexington Bikeways breakfast in Lexington Center. 

Sunday, May 21 at 12:40 p.m., officers attended the LABBB community barbecue event.

Larceny

Thursday, May 18 at 10:35 a.m., a Lincoln Street resident reported his backpack had been stolen out of his wife’s car sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The car was left unlocked when parked at Spaulding Rehab on McGuire Road. There was no damage to the motor vehicle, but the backpack contained a MacBook, Air Pods, and important, personal documents. This resident was tracking his air pods with his ‘find my phone’ app and contacted his bank regarding a missing checkbook. A check of Spalding cameras, as well as the Bedford Plaza where the air pods were tracking last, followed.

Sunday, May 21 at 3:45 p.m., a Burns Road resident called to report that a package that was supposed to contain a phone arrived, but the box was empty. He was concerned that the phone might have been stolen and wished to file a police report.

Sunday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m., a Forest Street resident came into the station to report his son’s bike had been stolen from his yard on Friday night. He described the bike as a blue Trek Marlin 5 with an approximate value of $300. An officer checked the area of Forest Street to the high school and the bike was not located.

Animal Control

Wednesday, May 17 at 10:45 a.m., a Lexington resident called to report her German Shepherd was loose in Arlington Great Meadows. The dog did not have a collar or tags but was microchipped. This resident called back to report the dog was found and reunited with her. 

Wednesday, May 17 at 3:15 p.m., a Concord Avenue resident called regarding two loose, untagged golden retrievers near the 300 block of Concord Avenue. When contacted, the homeowners stated their daughter would secure the two dogs. When checked, the officer reported both dogs had been taken inside the owner’s residence.

Sunday, May 21 at 12:15 p.m., there was a report of a loose dog around Concord Avenue and Waltham Street. The report stated the dog was hit by a vehicle. The owner took his dog to have it checked. This case was referred to the Animal Control Officer for follow-up.

Noise complaints 

Thursday, May 18 at 10:40 p.m., a Greeley Village resident called to report hearing what sounded like several girls screaming behind Grace Chapel. Police responded to the area and did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

Saturday, May 20 at 11:50 p.m., a Shade Street resident called to report a large group of kids yelling and revving car engines. Officers responded to the street address. Parents were home and advised they had a birthday party, and everyone had left at 11:30. 

Town Bylaws

Wednesday, May 17 at 7:12 p.m., a Lowell Street resident called to report residential construction noise in violation of the town’s bylaw. The responding officer spoke with the workers as they gathered and packed up their equipment to leave and advised them of the bylaws.

Sunday, May 21 at 9:25 p.m., a Robinson Road resident reports lawn equipment in use beyond allowable hours. The responding officer spoke with the homeowner and advised him of the equipment use bylaws.

Fraud

Monday, May 15 at 10:55 a.m., a Baskin Road resident came into the station to report she had lost her wallet in Boston over the weekend. This resident parked her car and paid for the meter on Gloucester Street. After dinner on Newbury Street, she realized her wallet was gone when she attempted to pay for dinner. At approximately 7:00 p.m., she received fraud alerts from Chase Bank and Bank of America that her credit card and debit card were flagged and disabled due to suspicious activity. An unknown party had attempted to use her credit card. This resident confirmed there was no loss of funds, and she notified both of her banks. She was advised to monitor her credit reports for any suspicious activity. 

Monday, May 15 at 7:20 p.m., a John Benson Road resident came into the station to report a real estate scam. During the last week or so, he had been communicating with an “impostor.”

Tuesday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m., a Stratham Road resident came into the police station to report he was a victim of a check washing scheme. According to this resident, he wrote a check from his business account to the City of Waltham on March 15 for $223. He is unsure when and where he mailed this check. The check was stolen and washed, then forged and uttered at an Eastern Bank in the amount of $3000.25. He notified his bank, and they closed the account and reimbursed his loss to the City of Waltham.

Tuesday, May 16 at 11:40 a.m., a Relationship Advisor from Enterprise Bank reported he was notified by bank security that Melvin Guerrero opened an account on 4 5/23 and was uttering fraudulent checks by utilizing this account. The bank advisor has attempted to contact this individual with negative results. The bank has lost over $1000 as a result.

Thursday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m., an Arlington resident came into the police station to report he had received a letter from his employer, MIT Lincoln Labs in Lexington, about an unemployment claim the Massachusetts Unemployment Department reported. He had not applied to receive unemployment benefits. An unknown person had utilized his personal information to collect such funds. This is part of an active scam that is targeting states including Massachusetts. He was advised that this is now on record with the police, and he should visit the Mass.gov website and fill out the fraud form regarding this scam. The Unemployment Department of Massachusetts has its own fraud department that will manage this case.

*Facts from AARP’s Fraud Watch from the May 2023 issue of the AARP Bulletin. From: AI Gives Scammers a Scary New Tool by Chris Morris

“Artificial Intelligence has opened a new door for scammers, making it easy to replicate almost anyone’s voice from a brief audio sample. That has made frauds such as the grandparent scam — built around a fake phone call supposedly from a grandchild — frighteningly effective, experts say.”

“If you receive a call seemingly from someone close to you asking for money, there are steps the Federal Trade Commission suggests you take to protect yourself.” 

1. (of 3) “Slow things down. These calls typically move fast. If someone you know seems to be calling you for money unexpectedly, tell them you’ll call back. Then find the number from a trusted source.”

The Lexington Police Department updates its call log on Monday mornings. LexObserver coverage is a sampling of incidents and is not an exhaustive list. The full logs are available for public viewing.