The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs during the week leading up to October 9, 2023. The Lexington Observer does not independently verify this information.
Community Relations
Wednesday, October 4 at 8:20 a.m., after a location change from Mass Ave/Park Ave. to Mass Ave/Forest St., the Hastings School Bike Train ride to Hastings School was completed without incident.
Thursday, October 5 at 1:20 p.m., an officer assisted in a lockdown drill at the Lexington Community Center.
Friday, October 6 at 10 a.m., a detective met with individual staff members of the Community Center separately to review a plan in case there was an active threat at the Community Center. This detective also addressed follow-up questions from the staff regarding the Active Threat PowerPoint presentation in mid-September.
Motor Vehicle Accident
Thursday, October 5 at 6:10 p.m., several 911 calls regarding a head-on collision between two cars at Marrett Rd. and Lincoln St. came into the station. There were multiple crash victims and mutual aid from surrounding towns. Several individuals were transported to Lahey Hospital. The State Police Reconstruction Team responded to investigate and tows were called for both vehicles. The NH operator of motor vehicle #2 was cited for operating as to endanger and marked lane violations.
Dispute/General Argument
Monday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m., an Elliot Rd. resident stated she felt harassed after a verbal dispute with her Tavern Lane neighbor about walking her dog. She said the neighbor followed her and her dog down the street and they exchanged “heated words.” This neighbor claimed her dog had an electric fence/collar and had broken free of it. The Tavern Lane resident then went after her dog who had started to follow. She was able to retrieve her dog and at that point, but an argument occurred about dog bylaws and leash laws. Both parties were informed that the Animal Control Officer would be notified and would conduct a follow-up inquiry. *Town by-laws require that dogs be under “restraint and control” at all times.
Animal Control
Monday, October 2 at 4:35 p.m., a Theatre Pharmacy employee called to report a customer came in with a dog bite to the arm. The customer told him the bite had occurred while he was walking on Old Belfry Path. The officer spoke with this individual who believed the dog was a medium-sized Golden Retriever that was running loose. EMS transported this Tarbell Ave. resident to Leahy. Officers checked the Old Belfry Path area for the dog. They spoke with several people in the area, but no one had seen a dog off-leash in the area.
Tuesday, October 3 at 9:30 a.m., a Baskin Road resident walked into the station to file a complaint. While walking his Australian Shepherd, Rosie, around the bend of the Old Reservoir, he came across a 40 to 50-pound, unleashed Black Lab mix. This loose dog became aggressive toward him and his dog and attempted to bite his dog several times. He was forced to ward off the dog with his foot while his dog hid behind him. He stated that the Black Lab’s name may be Minnie and is owned by nearby Baskin Rd. residents. Both this resident and his dog were unharmed, but he wanted the incident documented.
Thursday, October 5 at 9:30 a.m., a Mass Ave. resident called and reported being bitten by a dog while she was walking at Depot Square. The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. She did not recognize the dog but described it as a copper-colored, long-haired retriever. The owner was not present, but a dog walker was. He provided his contact information. Officers will attempt to locate the owner and vaccination records. The Animal Control Officer will be contacted.
Wednesday, October 4 at 8:20 a.m., a caller reported an owl stuck in a tree and hanging from some fishing line. Officers requested assistance from the fire department due to the location of the owl. The Lexington Fire Department was able to free the owl, and the Animal Control Officer responded that he would transport the owl to Tufts Animal Hospital in Grafton.
Larceny
Monday, October 2 at 1:45 p.m., an Oxbow Rd. resident reported he had received a delivery of three iPhone 15 boxes. Upon receiving them, he realized two of the three boxes were empty. The phones were valued at $1,200 each.
Sunday, October 8 at 2:15 p.m., a Bowser St. resident walked into the station to report her son’s bicycle had been stolen from Lexington High School. The bicycle is a men’s black Trek FX1 bike with white writing. The estimated value is $500. The bicycle was taken on Friday, October 6 between 8:20 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. The bicycle was left unsecured on the Muzzy St. side of the high school and was stolen by an unknown person.
Noise complaints
Monday, October 2 at 9:00 p.m., a Grapevine Ave. resident reported the generator located between her house and her neighbor’s house runs throughout the night and vibrates her home. Upon the officer’s arrival, the generator was off and not making noise or vibrating. This resident has not spoken to her neighbor regarding the issue and wanted this documented because she believes the generator is not up to the building code. She was provided with the case number for this call and was advised regarding her options.
Monday, October 2 at 10 p.m., a Grapevine resident called again to report that her neighbor turned his generator back on as soon as the officer left the area. The responding officer returned, parked out of view of the neighbor, and reported there was no noise coming from the generator. The caller stated there was a green light on the generator when it turned on. The officer explained the green light was currently on, but the generator was not making any noise.
Tuesday, October 3 at 7:40 p.m., a Middle St. resident called and reported construction noises at 90 Middle St. Responding officers spoke with Soares Pro Service Inc. whose crew was advised of the town’s noise bylaws and quickly finished working for the evening.
Thursday, October 5 at 11:05 p.m., a Burlington St. resident called to report loud music from the Chabad Center. Units on scene report a holiday party. They were advised to turn the music down.
Saturday, October 7 at 10:55 p.m., a Lexington Ridge Dr. resident called to report there were loud noises nearby that included arguing, children playing, and loud music. Responding officers spoke with the resident and all was calm. There was no noise out of the ordinary.
Fraud
Friday, October 6 at 9:55 a.m., a Grimes Rd. resident called to report becoming a victim of a scam. On Thursday, October 5 at approximately 2:30 p.m., this resident was contacted on Facebook Messenger by someone claiming to be her cousin. This individual notified her that he saw her name on the Community Service Block Grant and encouraged her to fill out an application. She was given a link to use. After clicking the link, she was contacted by an individual claiming to be Johnson Payne Charles, an agent for CSBG. She gave him personal information, except for her Social Security number. She recognized this was fraudulent after receiving a message stating she would receive $250,000. She called her cousin who confirmed that his Facebook account had been hacked. This resident contacted her financial institutions and completed the fraud application on Mass.gov. She reports there was no monetary loss.
Friday, October 6 at 11:40 a.m., two Grapevine Ave. residents reported a check they made payable to TD Bank for $250 was taken out of the mail, washed, and then cashed for $7,255 to Andy Tate. They reported they gave the check to a TD Bank employee at the location in Lexington and she told them their check was handed to postal employees at the branch to be mailed. This is when it was believed to have been stolen and altered. (Officer to follow up with bank and post office on their behalf.)
**From ARP’s Fraud Watch – AARP Bulletin September 2023 – Get Back What’s Yours – “Recovering what you lost to scammers is a long shot. But that’s starting to change,” according to Sari Harrar.
Peer-to-Peer Apps – Zelle, Venmo, and CashApp
Starting June 30th, the more than 2,000 U.S. banks that provide customers with Zelle, the nation’s largest dollar volume peer-to-peer payment service, have been investigating and recovering money lost to scammers. This is a massive change, says Ben Chance, chief fraud risk management officer for Early Warning Services, the network’s owner and operator for Zelle.
Previously, scam victims could recover money lost in unauthorized Zelle transactions only when a criminal took over an account. This rule change even covers transactions authorized by users, “if you have fallen for a certain type of imposter scam,” Chance says. The scammer has to be impersonating a government agency like the IRS or Social Security Administration, a financial institution like a bank, or a service provider like a utility company.” Last fall, Congress opened an investigation into Zelle’s fraud recovery policies, saying scammers used the service to steal 441 million from users in 2021.
Reporting tip: if you paid scammers by using Zelle, you can report it to the bank or credit union where you have your Zelle account up to 120 days after an incident. But sooner is better for bank investigators. The nation’s two other largest P2P apps, Venmo and Cash App recommend users contact customer service if they’ve been scammed. But, they say, most of the time, payments to scammers cannot be canceled.
Next week: Gift Cards
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.