Police Blotter: A Turtle in the Road

Police Blotter 31

The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs in the week leading up to August 15, 2023. The Lexington Observer does not independently verify this information and does not reflect our reporting or opinion.

Arrests

Friday, August 11 at 1:45 a.m., officers conducted a motor vehicle stop at the Bedford St. bridge/Route 128 Hwy. A woman from Framingham was taken into custody, given a voluntary *Preliminary Breath Test, then charged with failure to stay within marked lanes, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor, and operating a motor vehicle negligently so as to endanger. Police contacted Mal’s for a tow and Waltham Police Department for a female officer’s assistance with a search. 

*The PBT is the first test conducted in the field, often on the side of a road. The breathalyzer test is generally the second test conducted at the police station. This breath test is mandatory, unlike the PBT, which is voluntary.

Suspicious Activity: Person/Motor Vehicle

Tuesday, August 8 at 2:40 a.m., a Main Campus Dr. resident saw someone kicking at her door twice and talking to himself. She did not know the party’s name or have a description of what he was wearing, but she believed he lives nearby on Main Campus Drive. The responding officer reported that the individual was gone upon his arrival and advised this resident to call if this occurred again.

Thursday, August 10 at 8:20 p.m., a Westminster Ave./ Lowell St. resident called to report a van parked in a neighbor’s driveway. The driver knocked on the door and left when no one answered. The van then proceeded to another neighbor’s house where the resident answered the door. After leaving, the driver returned to the initial house where he knocked on the door again. The driver then parked his vehicle in the driveway. The responding officer reported seeing a commercial van in the driveway on Westminster Ave in Arlington belonging to Foyer Plumbing Company. When checked, there was no sign of suspicious activity.

Friday, August 11 at 4:30 p.m., a Bowman St. resident reported there was a man taking pictures of his home, and he wanted an officer to check it out. The ‘photographer’ was wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt. The responding officer reported that the person was gone upon arrival. No crimes had been committed.

Saturday, August 12 at 3:00 p.m., a Mass Ave at Minuteman Lane resident called reporting a small, gray sedan, possibly a Toyota, driving slowly and stopping near his house multiple times. There was no plate or description of the operator. The responding officer checked the area, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Saturday, August 12 at 7:30 p.m., a female walked into the station to report a suspicious male was “possibly following” her as she was walking through Lexington Center. She described him as a male in his 30s with a beard wearing a red/ black Adidas T-shirt and shorts. Officers located an individual in front of the post office who matched this description. He stated he was just walking along Mass Ave. All appeared in order.

Animal Control

Wednesday, August 9 at 5 p.m., a call came in reporting a turtle in the road near Lowell St. and North St. The responding officer reported that, upon his arrival, the turtle had ambled on down the road, and there were no traffic issues at that time.

Thursday, August 10 at 4:00 p.m., a call came in reporting a dead raccoon at the corner of Maple Street and Solomon Pierce Rd. The DPW was notified regarding this slower-than-a-turtle raccoon found dead on the road.

Thursday, August 10 at 10:00 PM., a Carriage Drive caller reported an aggressive, growling dog came running at him. The responding officer checked the area. Upon his arrival, all was quiet.

Larceny

Saturday, August 12 at 3:10 p.m., the Lexington town pool manager called to report one of the patron’s credit cards had been stolen from her car. When the officer spoke to her, she stated she arrived at the pool at 1:25 p.m. and her husband called at 2:40 p.m. asking for her location because there were charges on their credit cards from Bloomingdale’s and Apple. She stated her vehicle had been left unlocked, her purse on the passenger floor, and the windows open halfway. She stated she had entered the vehicle and touched her purse, so there was nothing police could process. 

Disturbance/Noise Complaint

Saturday, August 12 at 11:50 p.m., a Blueberry Lane caller reported a large group of kids making noise in the area. When the responding officers arrived, they called the Lexington Fire Department for an intoxicated female resident. This individual signed a patient refusal for care. Officers spoke to a relative on scene who agreed to watch over the residents of the house. All others dispersed.

Monday, August 14 at 9:05 p.m., a call came in from an individual at Stop and Shop on Bedford St. reporting a group of five teenagers causing a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the group consisting of high school sophomores. They had been loudly shopping in the store which bothered other customers. Officers spoke with the young men and asked them to move along.

Fraud

Tuesday, August 8 at 10:20 a.m., a Middle St. resident reported he was the victim of fraud. He ordered an Apple iPhone on July 2 for $49.99 from Merchant Clearance Store. After checking this merchant’s website and receiving a fake tracking number, this resident realized it was a scam. By the time he realized this, his bank had already sent the funds to the merchant. At this time this resident has lost a total of $49.99.

Wednesday, August 9 at 5:20 p.m., a Woburn St. resident came into the station to report an individual had fraudulently attempted to open credit card accounts in his name. Multiple banks had contacted him by phone and mail. Chase Bank, American Express, and Capital One called to report attempts made to open credit card accounts. This resident also received an e-mail from Bank of America and Discover reporting similar activity. At this time there has been no monetary loss, as this individual was able to stop these attempts. This resident has also contacted the credit bureaus regarding this incident. 

Wednesday, August 9 at 6:05 p.m., a Mass Ave. resident came into the station to report he put four checks in the US Postal Service mailbox at the corner of Mass Ave and Cedar Street on July 27. Three of the checks have been canceled, but one check for $409.91 was altered to $4896.07. This resident contacted Bank of America who advised this amount had been credited to his account pending their investigation. 

Friday, August 11 at 8:30 a.m., a Lincoln St. resident stated an unknown person (alias: John Wilson) used 15,500 of his American Airlines SkyMiles to purchase an airline ticket on August 10. He contacted American Airlines for reimbursement of the SkyMiles and there has been no monetary loss. He was encouraged to monitor his credit reports to ensure no other accounts had been opened using his information. 

Saturday, August 12 at 1:30 p.m., a Bridge St. resident reported that on August 4 she received a call from Santander Bank requesting that she verify information. Eventually, this resident became suspicious of the caller and confirmed it was a scam. During the next couple of days, she was notified there were numerous attempts to open lines of credit in her name. This resident notified her bank and credit card companies regarding this fraud and put a freeze on her credit. One line of credit was successfully opened with Wells Fargo, and a cash advance of $850 was completed.

Monday, August 14 at 3:35 p.m., a Burlington resident reported fraudulent charges on her Citizens Bank account. She stated she ordered $84.27 worth of lotion from an Etsy account called Freshness Beauty on July 24. She called when they failed to deliver her items. The scammers told her they would reimburse her through Cash App and insisted she download an app called IDme in order to verify her identity. Scammers used the information she entered into IDme to open a credit card under her Citizens Bank account and spent $2500 on a charge listed as Gran Bank. Officers assisted her in contacting Troy at Citizens Bank who explained the charge had not been processed yet, and there was no monetary loss at this time. Troy prepared a fraud claim on her behalf in case the charges were processed within the next 5 days. She was advised of the dangers of providing personal information on the phone. Officers assisted her in deleting the IDme app used to steal her contact information.

Continued from last week… 

*Facts recorded from AARP’s Fraud Watch from June 2023 

*Reminder: If you have not yet done it, consider doing a “Wallet Audit.”

“Before your wallet is lost or stolen, consider the following: the modern wallet should be slim, light, and modestly populated. Many of the informational items we once carried can be accessed on our phones. If stolen, an overstuffed wallet can provide crooks with information and tools that may lead to the theft that spreads far beyond the cash the wallet contained. Here are some steps to consider mitigating that risk.”

LAST “never carry a blank check in your wallet. The days when you might need one for a purchase are mostly in the past.

Next week: “Defend Yourself against Tricky Summer Scams.”

The Lexington Police Department updates its call log on Monday mornings. LexObserver coverage is a sampling of incidents and is not an exhaustive list. Logs are available for public viewing. https://www.lexingtonma.gov/489/Weekly-Police-Logs#anchor_log