The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs during the week leading up to October 16, 2023. The Lexington Observer does not independently verify this information.
Community Engagement
Tuesday, October 10 at 9:15 a.m., officers assisted during an evacuation drill from Bridge School to Lexington High School.
Wednesday, October 11 at 6:35 p.m., in an effort to reassure the community that they are safe in Lexington, an officer actively engaged with the Temple Emunah community regarding the Israel-Hamas War. Because temples have asked for an added presence of police officers during this difficult time, officers have been assigned to pay special attention to the temples that are in their assigned sectors. The main goal is to increase police presence to ensure that people feel safe.
Friday, October 13 at 9:55 a.m., a recent police academy graduate visited the Harrington School to familiarize himself with the school staff and students.
Motor Vehicle Crash – Fatalities
Saturday, October 14 at 1:15 a.m., Lexington police assisted Massachusetts State Police and the Lexington Fire Department when a report of a wrong-way driver on route 128/95 at exit 49 Bedford St. overpass came in. When the fire department arrived at the scene of this high-speed head-on collision, they reported both vehicles were fully engulfed in flames and both drivers were deceased. The State Police are the investigating agency.
Larceny
Tuesday, October 10 at 12:50 PM., the store manager of Ace Hardware on Woburn St. called and reported observing individuals shoplifting merchandise. The subjects appear to have taken 2 sockets. The manager reported they had already left the store, but they were on camera stealing at 12:05.
Wednesday, October 11 at 1:40 p.m., Haines Management of Lexington reported past larceny of equipment from a garage located on Waltham St. Fire equipment from the fire department connection pipes and a fire extinguisher from the 6th floor in the parking garage were taken. The incident occurred sometime over the past two weeks, and this caller stated there were no cameras on this floor. He also reported checking surveillance for the last two weeks from other floors and did not see anyone. The Lexington Fire Department fire prevention department was notified and will contact the reporting party regarding restoring the building up to code.
Vandalism
Thursday, October 12 at 8:35 a.m., the site manager of CTA Construction at 1575 Mass Ave (new police station construction location) reported approximately 100 feet in from Fletcher Ave. along the bikeway, a section of the construction fencing was cut out. At this time nothing was missing, and the fencing had been repaired. This caller requests frequent cruiser checks of the construction site throughout the evening hours.
Suspicious activity – Persons
Tuesday, October 10 at 4:40 a.m., a caller reported suspicious activity with two males going in and out of Busa Wine and Spirits. They drove a dark-colored Audi that was parked out front. The caller thought it seemed suspicious. Responding officers spoke with the reporting party who stated she just observed the two parties walking around the front area of the store and never entered the building. Responding units did a perimeter check of the building and the area. They were unable to locate the Audi or anyone matching the descriptions given.
Friday, October 13 at 5:30 a.m., a Cedar St. resident called and stated she heard footsteps coming from her attic. She was home with her daughter who was sleeping and no one else was in the house. She heard the footsteps at 2:00 a.m. as well as 5:30 a.m. Responding officers did a walkthrough of the house. The house was in order and officers were unable to locate anything out of the ordinary inside. The resident was satisfied and advised to call back if there were any other issues.
Disturbance and Dispute
Tuesday, October 10 at 2:30 PM., a Worthen Road resident walked into the station to report a disturbance with her neighbor that had occurred on October 8th. Her neighbor had damaged a door to her storage shed and parked his bicycle inside. This caused her fear because of another past disturbance that occurred on October 6th which she also reported to police. This resident was advised of her options regarding a Harassment Prevention Order.* She provided a statement that she plans to present to the judge at Concord District Court. She has previously petitioned for an HPO but vacated the order shortly after a judge granted it. *The harassment prevention law, commonly called Chapter 258E , is there to protect you against someone who is harassing, stalking or sexually assaulting you, no matter what your relationship with them might be.
Thursday, October 12 at 11:15 a.m., an individual from the Carpenter’s Union stated his inflatable rat was punctured and wanted to speak with an officer. The responding officer spoke with two individuals from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and spoke with another from Callahan Construction. Parties were advised and peace was restored. A police detail was requested for this location due to union picketing and the potential of the peace being disrupted again.
Animal Control
Wednesday, October 11 at 7:30 a.m., a Bedford resident came into the station and reported finding a lost dog on Allen St. near Bina Farm on Tuesday. The dog was a small white terrier with no tags or collar. The responding officer assisted with taking the dog to the animal shelter at 2:05 p.m. The Animal Control Officer was notified. The owner, a Watertown resident, called at 3:15 p.m. to report that she had lost her terrier in the morning. She was advised to go to the Westview St. dog kennel where an officer met with her, and the dog was reunited with its owner.
Wednesday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m., a Bedford St. resident called and reported a snake in her backyard. She did not know whether it was venomous and was concerned for her young children. The responding officer checked the area and removed the snake from the yard.
Friday, October 13 at 8:05 p.m., a Coolidge Rd. caller reported his dog had bitten another person while they were walking at Center Field on Worthen Rd. Officers arrived on the scene and spoke with the Ballard Terrace resident who had been bitten on the arm. The bite appeared minor, and voluntary transport to Lahey by EMS was offered. Officers spoke with the caller whose 6-year-old Newfoundland had bitten this individual. He stated his dog had never attacked anyone before.
Fraud
Tuesday, October 10 at 11:40 a.m., an Oxbow Road resident and owner of Lifetime Roofing of Sudbury came into the station to report that a Lexington resident had been the victim of a scam. He had received a call from a Whittier Rd. resident regarding an estimate for a new roof. His company did not provide an estimate, however, there was a copy of an estimate with his company’s information on it. The victim of the crime had not yet come forward. Officers went to the Whittier St. address and spoke with the resident who explained that on September 1 two men approached him regarding a damaged chimney and recommended that he immediately fix it. The men returned the next day with a quote to fix his roof for $45,000. This resident paid with two separate checks, one for $30,000 and the other for $15,000. Again, the men returned recommending more work, but this Whittier Rd. resident declined due to the high cost of the work already done. (This type of fraud is Larceny by False Pretenses.)
Tuesday, October 10 at 1:35 p.m., Jerry Michelson called to report a customer came into the store on September 27 around 12:30 p.m. and bought two Ugg style boots worth $340.31. Michelson’s Shoes received a notice from the credit card company that the transaction was disputed as fraudulent. (They will contact the credit card company to contest the dispute, but if it is denied they will have lost money.) The customer matches the description of another customer who attempted to purchase expensive items from Eye Look Optical that same day but walked out before making any purchase. He stated Eye Look has had numerous incidents over the past year that matched this particular incident and confirmed it was the same person. Eye Look does not currently have video footage. Michelson’s has video footage and will be providing it.
Sunday, October 15 at 11:55 a.m., a Jonas Stone Circle resident walked into the station to report her husband had been the victim of wire fraud. He had been contacted in May 2023 by a text message from a friend from college. This friend stated he was involved with a crypto company that was “poised to be very successful” and asked him to invest. This resident took out a home equity line from Citibank on their home and sent his friend $100,000. Over the next few months, he continued to send his “friend” cash in increments of $100,000 to $200,000. In June, after he had sent a total of $500,000 and hadn’t received or gained anything in return, Citibank froze his account for fear of illegal trading. He did not report the fraud at that time “out of embarrassment.”
**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.
“Gift card companies may be able to recover some, or all of the money sent to scammers via gift card numbers if you act quickly, says Martha Weaver, spokesperson for the retail gift card association. With the receipt and swift reporting, funds or partial funds can be recouped. The sooner you take action the more likely you are to minimize the damage and protect yourself from further financial harm.”
Reporting tip: there should be a 1-800 number on the back of the card – call that number, Weaver says. Some gift card issuers may have specific procedures for handling fraud claims. Follow their instructions. If there is not a toll-free number on the card, go to the website and contact customer service.
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.