Police Log: Driver Strikes Pedestrian, Multiple Scams & Man Faces 3rd OUI Charge

The Watertown Police Department provided the following information.

Arrests

Feb. 21, 5:11 p.m.: Police spotted a woman who they knew was wanted on a warrant. She was stopped at the corner of Main and Lexington streets and was taken into custody. The 42-year-old Watertown woman was arrested on two warrants from Waltham District Court: one for larceny under $1,200 and one for possession of a Class B substance.

Feb. 22, 3:17 p.m.: Target security spotted a woman place multiple items into a large plastic bin she had in her carriage. She took the spider anti-theft device off of four Nest cameras, and three vacuum cleaners. She also took a Bose Sound Bar, and removed the security device. She made it to the exit, but turned around and left the carriage at customer service. She was stopped by security and police were called. The 44-year-old Burlington woman was arrested on nine counts of unlawful removal of a theft detection device, and one count of shoplifting over $250.

Feb. 23, 10:52 a.m.: An officer on Madison Avenue saw a vehicle going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. The officer followed the car and the driver maintained the speed. It also drifted toward the outside curb and jerked back toward the center. The vehicle was pulled over on Waverley Avenue at Orchard Street. Police observed signs of intoxication on the driver. He failed five field sobriety tests and was arrested. The 35-year-old man from Raymond, N.H., was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, a second offense.

Feb. 27, 12:13 a.m.: A vehicle with no inspection sticker was spotted by an officer patrolling in the area of School and Arsenal streets. The vehicle was stopped and Police discovered the driver had six outstanding warrants. The 20-year-old Everett woman was arrested on the warrants: one from Somerville District Court for threats to commit a crime; two from Woburn District Court, one for receiving stolen property and one for credit card fraud; and three from Malden District Court, one for unlicensed driving, one for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one for witness intimidation.

March 2, 2:50 a.m.: An officer on Arsenal Street spotted a vehicle going 47 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police pulled the vehicle over at Galen and Watertown streets. The officer noticed signs of intoxication on the driver, including a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and glassy eyes. The driver failed three field sobriety tests. Police discovered the man had two prior OUI convictions in Nevada. The 26-year-old Pembroke man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, a third offense; driving with a suspended license; and was cited for speeding.

March 2, 5:27 a.m.: A man had parked his car and gone to work, and when he returned to the vehicle he found someone sleeping in the front passenger seat. The door had been left unlocked. Police were called and spoke to the man in the car, who said that he just went into the car to get some sleep. The 20-year-old homeless man was arrested on a charge of breaking and entering a motor vehicle with intent to commit a misdemeanor.

Incidents

Feb. 18, 5:58 p.m.: A Cuba Street resident was contacted by phone by a person saying she was the woman’s daughter and that she had been kidnapped in Mexico. She was told she needed $20,000 wired to the kidnappers to let her daughter go. The resident said she would wire the money, but she did not have $20,000. She only had $400. The caller said that was OK and told the woman she should send the money by Western Union. Soon after sending the money the woman realized she had been scammed and reported it. Police were able to contact Western Union and get the transfer reversed. They could not track the phone to anyone.

Feb. 19, 2:30 p.m.: A comforter was stolen from a dryer at the West End Landromat. The owner put it in and left at 8 a.m. and when she came back at 8:30 a.m. it was gone. Security tape showed a woman take the hypoallergenic comforter out of the dryer, fold it, put it in her basket and leave.

Feb. 20, 5:34 p.m.: A resident reported that he had found someone had charged $4,000 to his cell phone plan. He started receiving email about a phone that he was not familiar with. He noticed that two people had been added to his cell phone plan and they had added two iPhone XS Max phones. Police are trying to identify who added the phones.

Feb. 20, 7:23 p.m.: A resident reported that items had been taken from a gravesite at Ridgelawn Cemetery on Highland Street. The person had place three cemetery lanterns and one cross at the gravesite and when the person returned on Feb. 4 they were still there. When the person went back on Feb. 19, the items were gone. They were worth a total of $260.

Feb. 21, 7:14 p.m.: A pedestrian was struck while crossing Waverley Avenue at Warren Street. The driver was trying to make a turn from Waverley onto Warren and was going at a low speed when the 61-year-old man was struck in the crosswalk. He fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries. Police found that the driver, a 61-year-old woman from Watertown, was driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. The woman was issued a summons to go to Waltham District Court for driving an unregistered motor vehicle and was cited for a crosswalk violation.

Feb. 25, 9:42 a.m.: A new car was found in the lot at Lexus of Watertown with front-end damage. Lexus employees found that the 2018 RSZ 450h had been taken off the lot by a person working for a contractor who details the car. It was taken without permission and the employee got into an accident. The vehicle was then returned to the lot, and the damage was not reported. The employee was summonsed to Waltham District Court for using a motor vehicle without permission and unlicensed driving.

Feb. 26, 9:38 a.m.: A resident reported that someone had used her credit card to make a fraudulent charge of $1,556.53. She cancelled the credit card and learned that the charge had been made online by a person in Miami Gardens, Fla. The resident was not sure how someone had gotten her credit card information, but said it may have been compromised during a security breach at Marriott Hotels in December 2018.

Feb. 28, 2:44 p.m.: A resident received a call from someone saying they were from the IRS and that she owed money on last year’s tax return. She was told to purchase $2,600 in Google Game gift cards, which she did. The resident then texted pictures of the back of the cards to the caller. After that, she was asked to charge another $350 on her credit card. She realized it was a scam and called Police.

March 1, 7:51 p.m.: A shoplifter was stopped in Target after he was seen taking merchandise and put them in a carriage before leaving without paying. The man was stopped by security outside the store and escorted back inside. He was caught with $223.17 in merchandise. The 31-year-old Belmont man was summonsed to Waltham District Court for shoplifting.