Police Log: Businesses Broken Into, Multiple Catalytic Converters Stolen

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.

Arrests

July 28, 1:14 a.m.: Watertown Police checked on a car parked at Arsenal Park after closing time. A man inside was sleeping in the backseat. When they checked on the man, police spoke to him and found out he had an outstanding warrant. Joshua Wood, 31, from Lowell, was arrested on the warrant from Brighton District Court for disorderly conduct and destruction of property.

Incidents

July 26, 9:03 a.m.: A man reported an online scam. He had booked a vacation rental through Vrbo.com and in February he transferred $4,310 from his bank to an overseas account. The money was for a rental in Maine. As the time came for the rental the man realized he had been scammed. He is working with his bank to try to recover the money.

July 26, 11:09 p.m.: A man pulled up to 7-Eleven and went in, leaving his car running and unlocked. Five minutes later he came out and the 2019 Chevy Malibu was gone. Police were called and they found two witnesses who said two men came into the parking lot from Kimball Road, got into the car and sped away northbound on Kimball Road. The suspects were described as two African-American men, 18-20 years old, one wearing a grey Nike hoody with dark pants, and the other wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. The vehicle was recovered on July 27 when it was parked illegally in Cambridge. Police are investigating.

July 28, 10:22 a.m.: A Charles River Road resident started the car and it was very loud. When looking in the engine compartment of the 2005 Toyota Prius the resident saw the catalytic converter was missing. It was parked on July 27 at 4:30 p.m.

July 29, 1:20 p.m.: A catalytic converter was taken from a 2005 Toyota hatchback. It was parked on Riverside Road at about 8 p.m. and the next day it was loud so the owner took it to a mechanic who found the converter missing.

July 30, 8:38 a.m.: The owner of Watertown Laundromat on Mt. Auburn Street came in and discovered the cash register was open and the money inside was gone. The owner then discovered the back door had been forced open. Police also found that the business next door, Janier Barber Shop, had been broken into through the rear door. It had been forced open and the cash register was broken into. The owner was not sure what was missing. Detectives responded and are investigating.

July 30, 3:43 p.m.: The owner of a 2007 Toyota Prius came out July 29 and noticed some springs next to her vehicle. When the owner started the car the exhaust system sounded very loud and she realized her catalytic converter was missing. She had parked the vehicle at about 3 p.m. on July 27.

July 30, 6:51 p.m.: A Kimball Road resident had ordered a laptop computer and was waiting for it to be delivered. When it didn’t arrive, the resident checked the tracking number and saw it was reported delivered on July 28. UPS confirmed it had been delivered and it appears that the package was stolen. The Dell Inspiron laptop is valued at $1,015.26.

July 31, 10:12 a.m.: The receptionist at the apartments at Blvd & Bond at Arsenal Yards arrived and saw that several desk drawers had been forced open and two laptops were missing. It also appears some paperwork was taken, including checks. Detectives investigated and were able to identify a suspect, a 42-year-old homeless man from Cambridge. Police went to the homeless encampment that he frequented and, with the help of the Cambridge Police, they were able to recover the stolen property. The suspect fled shortly before police arrived. A warrant was taken out for the man on charges of breaking and entering during the nighttime to commit a felony, larceny from a building, and breaking into a depository.

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