Police Blotter: Not a good morning for raccoons…

The following are incidents selected from the Lexington Police Department logs in the week leading up to April 9, 2024. LexObserver does not independently verify this information.

Arrest

Monday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m., a resident was arrested for possession of obscene material involving children. The Detective Bureau investigated the incident, and this resident was placed under arrest and brought back to the station.

Community Engagement

Wednesday, April 3 at noon, Detective Chaisson met with the Lexington IT department to review how to effectively manage an active threat situation. Detective Chaisson introduced the Avoid/Deny/Defend protocol which is part of the ALERT Program.

Friday, April 5 at 3:30 p.m., Captain Barry attended the weekly housing assistance Zoom meeting hosted by Joanne Belanger of the Health Department.

Sunday, April 7 at 8:20 a.m., Detective Chaisson and Ducharme presented an active threat presentation to the Shishu Bhararti School at Lexington High School for approximately 50 staff members.

School – Directed Park, Lock, and Walk – a sampling

Monday, April 1 at 11:40 a.m., an officer monitored the parking lot and grounds at Estabrook School. He made himself available to staff to discuss all current events. He watched children play games in the field.

Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30 a.m., the school detective assisted with morning school drop offs at Jonas Clarke Middle School and spoke with multiple parents who attempted to drop off their child in a restricted area (Franklin Apartments). 

Tuesday, April 2 at 8:30 a.m., the principal of Harrington Elementary School requested police presence during morning drop-off. Parents have been dropping off students in an area that has a blind spot for vehicles entering the property that does not have a crosswalk. During drop-off, the officer spoke with multiple parents who attempted to cross with their children in an area without a crosswalk. They were advised of the safety concerns.

Wednesday, April 3 at 10:05 a.m., an officer conducted a PLW at Fiske Elementary School. He spoke with faculty and staff, joined the 5th-grade class for recess, and conducted a Q&A with the children.

Friday, April 5 at 12:30 p.m., a detective and an officer conducted a community outreach program for the LABBB program. They spoke with the students and showed them their cruisers.

Suspicious Activity 

Monday, April 1 at 1:05 p.m., a report came in from Captain Parker Arms regarding a vehicle with doors wide open and no one nearby. The responding officer spoke to the owner of the vehicle who confirmed that it was accidental.

Saturday, April 6 at 9:10 p.m., an Uber Eats driver reported a male tried to enter his vehicle multiple times in the area of Ixtapa Restaurant. The responding officer located the individual at Mass Ave. and Curve St. He stated he was going to a homeless shelter. He appeared calm upon arrival. Parents were contacted to give him a ride, but the mother stated she did not feel comfortable picking up her son, and she wished he’d be transported to Emerson. At the same time, the officer requested the Lexington Fire Department be dispatched for voluntary transport.

Sunday, April 7 at 12:55 a.m., an employee at the McDonald’s at the Lexington Travel Plaza reported a group of young men causing problems by going behind the counter when he wasn’t looking. The responding officer reported all calm upon arrival. Officers spoke with the employee and the group of young men. One stated he had dropped air pods behind the counter and was retrieving them. The group was advised and no further issues arose.

Monday, April 8 at 7:45 a.m., a Main Campus Drive resident called concerned that the bathroom door would not open. She believed someone might be behind the door because there was resistance. The responding officer reported a cord stuck in the doorway and all was in order.

Animal Control

Not a good morning for raccoons…

Sunday, April 7 at 10:40 a.m., an Angier Rd. resident reported an injured raccoon in her driveway. The responding officer put the animal down with one round. The raccoon was bagged and placed at the edge of the driveway for DPW removal.

Sunday, April 7 at 10:49 a.m., a caller reported a raccoon appeared to have been struck by a car on Forest St. The responding officer located the animal and put it down with one round. The animal was bagged and placed curbside for DPW removal.

Three Cheers for our wild animal friends and canines in town. No reports of injury, death, or neighbor annoyance. Warmer weather means more activity, so keep your eyes open and remember to share the road.

Larceny and Breaking and Entering

Thursday, April 4 at 1:40 p.m., a staff member from Pine Knoll Nursing Center called on behalf of a resident who alleged his healthcare proxy stole $33,000 from a bank account. The responding officer spoke with the director and social worker who reported this resident’s brother-in-law took money from two different bank accounts while the resident had been in care of the facility. They were notified by a caseworker at Silver Line Solutions while assisting this resident in filing a Mass Health application.

Thursday, April 4 at 1:50 p.m., a Mass Ave. resident reported finding her delivered package open on her front porch. This resident found the tape removed from the package that had been tampered with.

Monday, April 7 at 12:15 p.m., at the Christ Revolution Church on Lowell St., a caller reported 2 male subjects going through his vehicle. The caller stated he confronted both parties, and they left on Lowell St. toward Burlington. Police could make a positive ID of the vehicle by utilizing the MA license plate then conduct a motor vehicle stop in the area of Lowell St. and East St. The responding officers identified the individuals and determined they had confused the car with a friend’s vehicle that was parked at 451 Lowell St. the night before. One of the passengers had left his house keys in it.

Town bylaw – Contractors

Saturday, April 6 at 7: 23 a.m., a Lillian Rd. resident reported construction in violation of town bylaws. This situation had been occurring for the past several weekends. The responding officer spoke to the supervisor and advised him of the bylaws regarding noise from construction. The crew stopped working and did not resume until 9:00 a.m.

Sunday, April 7 at 1:00 20 p.m., a Winchester Dr. resident reported construction on Sunday which violates the town bylaws. The responding officer spoke with the contractors from Infinite Construction, and they were advised of the bylaw and ceased all work.

Fraud

Tuesday April 2 at 4:15 p.m., Holton Rd. residents called to report his wife was scammed and their money was lost. They received a call at 11:30 a.m. The unknown caller reported he was from Fidelity and that there had been fraudulent charges on their account. This unknown caller was able to access their accounts and wired $7,784.99 to an unknown City Bank account. Fidelity stated the transfer went through, but they put a hold on the money through Citibank.

Wednesday, April 3 at 12:15 p.m., a Blodgett Rd. resident came in to report that a check she mailed via USPS box in front of the Lexington Town Hall was stolen, washed, and then cashed for a larger amount. She stated she was able to contact Citizens Bank in time for them to conduct a stop-payment on the check and was immediately refunded the money. 

Thursday, April 4 at 9:20 a.m., a Whittier Rd. resident called to report identity theft. An officer spoke with him and he stated that on April 1 someone attempted to take out a loan in his name at Community Bank in Waldorf, Maryland. He has a third-party credit protection service that notified him of the attempt that day. He then called Equifax on April 1 to inform them that the loan application in question was fraudulent. On April 3, Equifax called him and informed him they were investigating his inquiry. This resident has experienced no monetary loss, but he wanted the incident documented by law enforcement.

Friday, April 5 at 3:45 p.m., Revere St. residents reported they were victims of a gift card scam. The couple purchased $100 Vanilla gift cards from Stop and Shop in December as gifts for friends. They just recently discovered all five were zero balance cards. These residents notified Vanilla’s fraud department who then opened a claim and requested a police report for their records.

Friday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m., a Phillip Rd. resident reported having a check stolen from the mail. He stated that his wife placed his check in a USPS mailbox in Lexington Center on March 24. The original check was made out to an insurance company for $822. On April 4 this resident checked his bank statement and noticed the check had been washed and deposited in the amount of $7436.18 and made out to Thierry Atunes. This resident has notified his bank as well as the Postal Inspector and is currently waiting to hear back regarding reimbursement.

Saturday, April 6 at 10:10 a.m., a Shirley Street resident came in to report she had been receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown person. She stated that the person had sent her text messages attempting to scam her out of money. She had not responded to the text messages or phone calls. She had not provided any personal information to the scammer. She wanted this incident documented with the police. She has notified her respective bank in case there is any suspicious activity. She has also been advised to monitor her credit reports. There is no monetary loss. 

*From AARP Fraud Watch Network April 2024

There are six scams that experts say you should be watching out for this year. This week:

1. Check COOKING scam

Last year, the big thing was check washing, where thieves stole paper checks from postal boxes, mailboxes or even carriers and then washed the checks with chemicals, keeping the signature but erasing the amount and the payee so they could fill in a new name and amount. But now, they’ve discovered a less messy way to steal. In check cooking, thieves take a digital picture of a stolen check and then use commercially available software to alter it.

“It looks very real, even with the watermarks and all,” explains Michael Bruemmer, vice president of data breach resolution and consumer protection at Experian, a global credit verification and financial services firm. Criminals can print a new phony check or else just deposit the altered image using a bank’s mobile app, he notes.

How to stay safe: Consider using a safer payment method, such as a credit card. But if you choose to write paper checks, scammers still need to steal a physical copy. Make it harder for them. Instead of putting the check in a mailbox, drop it off directly at the nearest post office. And continually monitor your checking account and watch for any suspicious transactions.

*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.