The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Arrest
Jan. 8, 8 a.m.: Police responded to a call from Home Depot about a shoplifter. A man was seen concealing several tools in a trash bag and left the store without paying. The tools were worth $459.99. The man was stopped and the tools were recovered. The store did not request shoplifting charges but Police found that the man had an outstanding warrant. Dante Gattoni, 50, of Boston, was arrested on the warrant from Roxbury District Court for larceny under $1,200.
Incidents
Jan. 5, 8:43 a.m.: The owner of Bling Boutique reported that someone had thrown a traffic cone through a window of the store on Main Street and shattered the glass. It did not appear that anyone got into the store and nothing was reported missing. It is now clear where the cone came from. It had an NStar marking on it. Police are investigating.
Jan. 5, 1:37 p.m.: A Bailey Road resident reported a credit card fraud. In November 2021 someone used her Citizens Bank card to charge $700 to her account. She reported it and the bank issued her a new bank account number and card. In December, she noticed another $700 in fraudulent charges were made on her account. It appears someone stole her identity and gained access to her account. The bank is investigating.
Jan. 6, 11:15 a.m.: A vehicle parked in the River Works parking lot on Pleasant Street had its catalytic converter. It was taken from a 2004 Ford F-250 overnight from Jan. 5 to Jan. 6. Police said thefts of catalytic converters have been on the rise in the Metro Boston area over the last few months.
Jan. 6, 1:47 p.m.: A car pulled up at the Watertown Gas and Service station on Watertown Street and the driver spoke to the attendant. There were also two passengers. The driver gave the attendant a credit card and asked to put gas in the tank. He also asked the attendant to run the credit card inside the office and not at the gas pump because his credit card company puts a hold on his credit card when it is used at the pump. The attendant said he couldn’t do that because there were a lot of people waiting. He said he could run the card at the tank or the driver could get gas at another station. The driver got out of the car and punched the attendant in the head, and then a female passenger got out and sprayed the attendant in the face with pepper spray. They got back into the car and drove away. Using the surveillance video police were able to identify the female passenger, who also was the owner of the car. The 25-year-old woman from Boston was summoned to Waltham District Court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police are trying to identify the driver.
Between Jan. 6 and Jan. 8 five vehicles were broken into at an apartment building on Pleasant Street. The windows were broken and items were taken from the vehicles when they were parked in the garage. Taken items include about $60 in cash, cologne valued at $100, and a leather shoulder bag valued at $300. The most valuable item taken was a DJ turn table valued at $500. Police are investigating.
Jan. 6: Police had two outstanding warrants for domestic violence related charges. They learned the man was at the victim’s home on Robert Ford Road and were able to speak with the victim and got her safely out of the home. After numerous attempts to negotiate with the suspect, the suspect refused to come out of the home. Police obtained a search warrant and gained entry to the home with help of the NEMLEC SWAT Team. The suspect was placed safely into custody without further incident. There were no injuries to anyone involved. The incident lasted about five hours.
Jan. 7, 8:40 p.m.: A Main Street resident reported that someone broke into his apartment. The man is a part-time resident and said it occurred between Dec. 29 and Jan. 1. While it is believed that someone got into the apartment, nothing was missing. It appears that someone may have been squatting in the apartment.
Given the number and scope of crimes in Watertown, perhaps some of them not even reported to the police, it seems to me there should be a lot more arrests.
What happens to the people that are arrested?
We know that many DAs in the country do not prosecute “low level” crimes such as auto theft and shoplifting less than a $1000 worth of goods. Of course, that only encourages crime.
I wonder if most people in Watertown care. We should hear from local victims of crimes and whether there were arrests, prosecutions, and punishment. I assume mostly not.
We’ve come to accept crime. I think many people see crime as legitimate retribution by criminals against an allegedly racially and economically unjust society.
Only when it’s the homes and property of others and not theirs. Getting arrested for what used to be a serious crime is looked at as “not serious” enough to lock them up, but rather let them out on no bail “because they are poor and can’t afford it”, Once released, they just smile and do it again.
We need to punish all the criminals and make examples out of them. The other option is for the citizens to take justice and protection into their own hands which can be effective but dangerous.
Are you advocating vigilantism?
Own protection meaning 2nd Amendment. Arm yourself for your family’s and your own protection. Not vigilantism.
I wonder what the stance is of the new temporary DA, who replaced Rachel Rollins, on the crimes she deemed not appropriate to prosecute. I presume he will follow the same pattern. She squeaked by to become the US Attorney only because of the vote of the VP. Most people don’t agree with her policies. If we don’t start enforcing and prosecuting all these crimes, we won’t be far behind New York, Chicago and LA for being a crime-ridden place. This broken-window policy never worked before and it certainly won’t now as the criminals feel they have the upper hand. Remember all of this when we next get to vote on these key positions.
I think you’re confused. Rachel Rollins was the DA for Suffolk County. We’re in Watertown, which is in Middlesex County. The Middlesex County DA is Marian Ryan.