The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs during the week leading up to June 5, 2023. This information is not independently verified by The Lexington Observer and does not reflect our reporting or opinion.
Community Relations
Monday, May 29 at 9:30 a.m.,the community relations officers assisted with the Memorial Day parade.
Friday, June 2 at 12:55 p.m., officers attended the National Gun Violence Awareness event with the state representative and senator.
Friday, June 2 at 8:45 a.m., a detective along and park ranger conducted a ride to school for Conrad Payne whose family won this silent auction item at Community Nursery School.
Arrests
Tuesday, May 30 at 2:55 p.m.,at Bedford Street and Harrington Road, an officer observed an individual driving down the middle of the road over the double yellow line. When stopped and observed, the Mass Ave resident was unable to stand. He was charged with an OUI for operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, operating as to endanger, and a marked lane violation. He was later transported to Lahey Hospital.
Saturday, June 3 at 12:55 a.m.,multiple 911 calls came in regarding a motor vehicle accident with injuries. At Middle Street and Marrett Road, a Waltham resident crashed his car into a utility pole. When observed by the responding officer, this driver had red, glassy eyes and spoke with slurred speech. He admitted he had beer before driving his vehicle. Also, he submitted to a portable breath test. Given these facts, this driver was placed under arrest. Later, he was transported to Lahey Hospital as he showed all six indicators of impairment.
Suspicious Activity – Motor Vehicle/Persons
Tuesday, May 30 at 10:30 p.m., officers located two vehicles parked at the Cotton Farm parking lot on Marrett Road. There was 94 C drug paraphernalia around the vehicles. Officers checked the area; it was quiet, and no one was found there.
Wednesday, May 31 at 10:16 p.m., a Crosby Road resident called to report that while driving on Marrett Road, an older male threw a rock at his vehicle. An officer spoke to this resident and confirmed no rock was thrown toward him or at his vehicle. He stated that while he was coming off Wilson Road, a man (later identified) was just holding a rock in his hand, and there was no interaction between them. This man told the police he felt unsafe when walking alone at night, so he carried the rock in case there was an altercation and needed to protect himself.
Larceny
Wednesday, May 31 at 11:00 a.m., a representative of Citizens Bank contacted the office manager of Wagon Wheel Nursery and Farmstand at 927 Waltham Street. This representative notified her that some checks made out to Wagon Wheel that had been deposited were fraudulent. The office manager contacted Watertown Savings Bank where they have an account and notified them of this finding. Watertown Savings Bank was able to confirm that two more checks, which had been cleared at unknown banks, were also fraudulent.
Wednesday, May 31 at 5:15 p.m., a Mass Ave resident reported his bicycle had been stolen from the bike rack in front of the fieldhouse at the Lexington High School. After units cleared, the resident called back to report he was behind two males riding the bike down Mass Ave. toward the old police station. He reported the males got off the bike outside of CVS and entered the store. Officers located the two males who were turned over to the custody of one of the parents.
Friday, June 2 at 3:25 p.m., a Wyman Street resident walked into the station reporting the theft of his wallet from his motor vehicle. He reported that on May 6, someone had broken into his vehicle at the center playground and stolen three credit cards and $100. The credit cards from his wallet were subsequently used and he lost $6,200.
Animal Control
Monday, May 29 at 3:50 p.m., the Stop & Shop store manager called stating there were three dogs tied to a bench outside the Stop & Shop for over 3 hours. The responding officer was able to find a phone number on one of the dog’s tags, and dispatch was able to contact the Bedford Street resident. She stated she had forgotten her dogs at the store and was coming to retrieve them.
Wednesday, May 31 at 5:20 p.m., a call came into the station from a citizen reporting that she had a dog with no tag or collar that was wandering near the high school. However, the dog got away from the reporting individual. The medium-sized golden-brown dog with curly hair was last seen running on the center baseball field.
Noise Complaint/ Town Bylaws
Tuesday, May 30 at 9:00 p.m., a resident around the Lexington town pool called regarding a group playing loud music while using the basketball courts. The responding officer checked the area then spoke to the group. Once advised of the noise complaint, they turned off the music.
Friday, June 2 at 10:40 p.m., a Main Campus Drive resident called stating that her neighbors had very loud dogs, and she wished to file a noise complaint. The responding officer reported there was no answer at the neighbor’s residence. The animal control officer was notified.
Saturday, June 3 at 9:40 p.m., a Mass Ave. resident called to report a banging sound coming from her neighbor’s garage. The responding officer reports fireworks coming from the direction of Winchester, and they stopped after arrival. All was quiet.
Wednesday, May 31 at 10 15 p.m., a Brookhaven resident called to report construction noise from 1040 Waltham Street. The responding officer reported it was Northeast Recycling picking up a dumpster. There is currently no construction noise in this area.
Fraud
Wednesday, May 31 at 1:35 p.m., an Eldred Street resident came into the station to report he had received a credit card from US Alliance Financial in the mail opened in his name that he did not authorize. This resident contacted this institution to advise them, and the card has been canceled. He also contacted the Credit Bureaus to advise them of the incident. Currently, there has been no monetary loss. The officer advised him to contact the station if anything changes, or if any additional information becomes available.
Wednesday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m., a Center Street resident came into the station to report unemployment fraud. She was recently laid off and attempted to file for unemployment when she was informed that claims had already been filed in her name. An unknown person had utilized her personal information to collect such funds. She has been in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance.
Thursday, June 1 at 2:10 p.m., a Rockville Avenue resident came into the station to report that she had received a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance regarding an unemployment claim. She had not applied to receive unemployment benefits. An unknown person had utilized her personal information to collect such funds. She was advised to visit the mass.gov website and fill out the fraud form.
**Taken from the Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Advice website
In a large-scale scam erupting during the Coronavirus pandemic, imposters began filing claims for unemployment benefits using the names and personal information of people who have not filed claims. People learn about this fraud when they get a notice from their state unemployment benefits office or their employer about their supposed application for benefits.
If this happens to you, it means someone is misusing your personal information, including your Social Security number and date of birth. Act quickly. Here are steps to help you protect your finances and your credit:
- Report the fraud to your employer.
- Report to your state unemployment benefits agency.
- Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the FTC and get help with the next important recovery steps.
- Review your credit reports often. Through December 2023, you can check your reports every week for free through AnnualCreditReport.com. This can help you spot any new fraud quickly.
- One other thing: The unemployment payments are usually deposited into accounts under the imposter’s control. Sometimes payments are sent to the real person’s account, instead. If this happens to you, the imposters may call, text, or email to try to get you to send money to them. They may pretend to be your state unemployment agency and say the money was sent by mistake.
May’s police activity/calls:
Animal Control: 22
Assist Fire Department: 125
Cruiser Checks- General: 77
Cruiser Checks: Business: 246
Community Relations:13
Directed PLW (park, lock, walk) to check general well-being: 28
Directed Traffic: 240
Fraud (reported): 36
The Lexington Police Department updates its incident log on Monday mornings. LexObserver coverage is a sampling of significant incidents and is not an exhaustive list. The full logs are available for public viewing.