The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs during the week leading up to November 13, 2023. The Lexington Observer does not independently verify this information.Â
Community Engagement
Tuesday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m., an officer attended a community meeting with residents and representatives of LexHAB.
Saturday, November 11 at 10:30 a.m., an officer reported the Veteran’s Day parade was complete, and all units were clear.
Saturday, November 11 at 11:00 a.m., Chief McLean, Captain Mazerall, and members of the Honor Guard attended the Lexington Veteran’s breakfast held at the Knights of Columbus. Members of the shift then assisted with the motor vehicle parade from the Knights of Columbus to the Community Center.
Town Bylaw Violations
Friday, November 10 at 11:00 p.m., a caller reported two trucks had been idling in the Wagon Wheel parking lot for quite a while. Responding officers located them and moved the vehicles along.
Saturday, November 11 at 8:05 a.m., a Hudson Rd. caller reported contractors working on a new house construction project on Winston Road before work hours. The site manager for Sobrinho Construction was advised of the town bylaw.
Suspicious Activity
Friday, November 10 at 11:30 p.m., a Wyman Rd. resident reported a vehicle driving in a field. The responding officer located a vehicle with juveniles inside. They were advised of the conservation bylaws and not operating a motor vehicle on conservation land in the future. The responding officer followed the juvenile driver back to her residence as she was a “junior operator” and could not drive past 12:30 a.m.
Saturday, November 11 at 8:12 p.m., a report came in regarding three youths throwing rocks and acting a bit “strange” in the rear parking lot of CVS in Lexington Center. Responding officers spoke with all three juveniles and had them notify their parents. When parents arrived on the scene, they were briefed regarding the incident. All juveniles were released into their parent’s care. No one was injured and no property was damaged.
Larceny
Sunday, November 12 at 6:25 p.m., a Kitson Park Dr. resident called on behalf of her parents. They had discovered the door to their residence open and several pieces of jewelry missing. The caller agreed to meet with the officers to serve as a translator. The responding officer spoke with her as she talked about how two months earlier her parents had noticed their door had been left open to their Greeley Village apartment and multiple items of clothing and jewelry had been taken.
Animal Control
Tuesday, November 7 at 5:05 p.m., an officer responded to a call to Hancock St. near the Hancock House. A deceased cat was found in the road. The cat was returned to its owner on Patriots Drive.
Thursday, November 9 at 3:50 p.m., a Cedar St. resident stated he had a chocolate lab and a rottweiler that were let out of the house by a contractor who left the back door open. Both dogs returned a brief time later. This resident has left his contact information should this kind of incident occur again.
Three unfortunate incidents in the nighttime, perhaps the result of daylight savings — a raccoon, a skunk, and a possum tried to cross the road but didn’t make it to the other side.
Fraud
Tuesday, November 7 at 12:55 p.m., a Slocum Rd. resident walked into the station to report she had been the victim of fraud. She stated that on Sunday, Nov. 4, she received a call from a scammer who spoofed Bank of America’s Fraud Center number. As a result of this spoof, she lost $700 from her checking account and $12,000 from her credit card.
Tuesday, November 7 at 9:20 p.m., a Bridge St. resident reported he had listed an apartment for rent on Facebook Marketplace on November 3, and when he checked Facebook earlier today, he noticed someone had screenshotted his listing and placed a new listing on his apartment. It is believed this person is pretending to be the seller of the property in order to fraudulently solicit funds. At this time there appears to be no monetary loss or compromise of personal information. An officer explained how to report this listing issue to the Facebook Marketplace and was advised to call again should anything further occur.
Friday, November 10 at 10:15 a.m., a Judges Rd. resident came into the station to report she had received a letter from the Massachusetts Unemployment Department in regard to an unemployment claim. This resident had not applied to receive benefits. An unknown person had utilized her personal information in an attempt to collect such funds. This is part of an active scam in Massachusetts. She has been advised to go to the mass.gov website and complete the fraud form in regard to this scam. The Unemployment Department of Massachusetts has its own fraud department that is now dealing with such cases.
Friday, November 10 at 11:20 a.m., a Fletcher Ave. resident called to report her mother had been the victim of fraud. She explained that she noticed a $477.15 pending New Balance charge on 11/10 on her Visa credit card. She had not made that purchase and has contacted Visa regarding it. Visa marked the transaction as fraudulent and terminated the account number. This resident believes this fraud originated from a phishing* e-mail on her Gmail account. She has been advised to change her Gmail account and notify them of the possible fraud. She has suffered no monetary loss at this time and has checked her other accounts to ensure there are no other fraudulent transactions. She was given a copy of an FTC identity theft pamphlet and stated she understood the steps to take to prevent future scams.
* “Phishing is a cybercrime that leverages deceptive emails, websites, and text messages to steal confidential personal and corporate information. Victims are tricked into giving up personal information such as their credit card data, phone number, mailing address, company information, etc.”
**From ARP’s Fraud Watch – AARP Bulletin October 2023 – A Visual Guide to Fraud. Look for Signs That You’re Being Stalked by Crooks, Amy Nofziger, and Mark Fetterhoff.
“If you receive an e-mail — ostensibly from Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, or another retailer or service provider — claiming there was a suspicious purchase on your account, do not respond or call the number listed. Go directly to the company’s website and log into your account. (The other option: go to the organization’s website, find its customer service number, and call.) Crooks replicate big brand emails in links that take you to a fraudulent site where they seek personal information or some kind of payment.”
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.