The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Jan. 27, 5:40 a.m.: Five people were seen exiting Milk Vape Shop on Arlington Street, got into a black SUV and sped away toward Arsenal Street. Four men and a woman, all wearing dark clothing, went into the store, jumped over the counter and took approximately $5,000 in merchandise. Detectives responded to the scene and found pry marks on the front door. The incident is under investigation.
Jan. 27, 4:20 p.m.: A woman in a large puffy jacket went into the Nike Store and took three sweatshirts and two pairs of men’s joggers worth a total of $600.
Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m.: A man went into the Nike Store, took multiple Fleece Tech items and placed them in a mesh bag and left without paying. The apparel was worth a total of $700.
Jan. 28, 2:25 p.m.: Two women entered the Nike Store, took 13 Fleece Tech hoodies and a backpack and left without paying for the $1,188 worth of merchandise.
Jan. 28, 4:45 p.m.: A man took a pair of sneakers from the Nike Store worth $135. Store security believes the man had been involved in prior shoplifting incidents.
Jan. 28, 5:15 p.m.: A pair of men came into Victoria Spa, took a bottle of strawberry margarita mix and left without paying.
Jan. 27 to 28: Four motor vehicle break-ins were reported overnight from Jan. 27 to 28. The first was on Elmwood Avenue where a cell phone charger was taken. On Union Street, a debit card and a cell phone charter were missing from a vehicle. A passport, cash purse, a driver’s license and keys were taken from a vehicle on Summer Street. The fourth was on Capitol Street, where a pair of binoculars was missing.
Jan. 29. 3 p.m.: Three women entered the Nike Store and took multiple items worth a combined $2,167.87.
Jan. 29, 5:30 p.m.: A Waltham Street resident discovered someone filed an unemployment claim in the person’s name in July 2023, and had been receiving $950 a week.
Jan. 29, 5:30 p.m.: A resident of Maplewood Street received a text message from what was believed to be the U.S. Postal Service. It said a package was at the Post Office and could not be delivered because the USPS did not have the right address. The text had a link, which went to a form that looked like it was from the USPS, but it was trying to get personal information. Police said the Post Office will not send text messages.
Jan. 30, 12:30 p.m.: A Westminster Avenue resident received a 1099 tax form from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts saying she had received $6,090 in unemployment benefits in 2023. She had not applied for benefits or received the money.
Jan. 30, 6:39 p.m.: A man entered the Nike Store and took two pairs of Jordan sneakers and a jacket, worth a total of $155.
Jan. 30, 7 p.m.: A man entered Gordon’s Liquors and took two bottles of Johnny Walker Black worth $96 each.
Jan. 31, 12 p.m.: A Summer Street resident put two checks into a mailbox on Main Street at 1:30 p.m. and at 4:30 p.m. she received a call from Eastern Bank saying that someone had tried to cash a check for $7,500. The resident believes it was a scam. The incident is under investigation.
Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m.: Police officers were at Nike to discuss previous shoplifting incidents at the store when they spotted a man acting jittery and nervous. He was seen taking a pair of sneakers off the shelf, then moved them to another shelf. The man then took another pair of sneakers the shelf and appeared to sit down to try the shoes on, but he concealed the sneakers under his jacket. The man walked out without paying. Police stopped the man and when they looked at his ID they discovered he had a warrant for his arrest. Cullen Breton, 35, of Brockton, was arrested for shoplifting and the warrant from Boston District Court for driving with a suspended license and receiving a stolen motor vehicle.
Looks like the word is out that the Nike store on Arsenal Street is the place to go to shoplift.
I’ll say! They even have store security but that doesn’t seem to do anything but report incidents. And what’s with the clueless guy who shoplifts while there are police officers in the store?!
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Open season on free stuff at NIKE whether you live in town, or not. Clerks are afraid to stop anyone and ask for their sales receipt, since they will be screamed at and called “racist”!!!
Zero evidence to support that assertion.
Johnny’s statement is fact!
Maybe if you worked in some of these stores you would realize that when your boss tells you don’t do anything when it comes to shoplifters.
That does not happen.
I find the shoplifting incidents in Watertown very demoralizing. It must be doubly so for the people who work at those stores…
These types of shoplifting events are happening all over the country. It was just a matter of time before they increased in Watertown.
In New York one of the illegal immigrant thugs, who recently beat up two officers in Manhattan, was also charged with robbing stores there and even hitting a store employee prior to this incident. With New York’s District Attorney being soft on crime he was let loose after each incident. He and the others were just given dates to appear in front of the court, and it is being said that they are on buses to CA, a sanctuary state, where they will have even more protection from their crimes.
In CA the limit is $900 for the crime to be considered more serious than a misdemeanor. There are large amounts of stores closing there due to crimes.
The Federal Law allows up to $5,000 worth of stolen goods to be considered a federal crime.
In Massachusetts the levels have been increased so that most of these crimes are only considered misdemeanors. That is no deterrent for thieves as they only get charged and released and many never show up at any legal hearings.
Nike is a rich company that makes their profits on the back of child labor in China; they can afford to absorb more losses than many other stores. However, allowing or not penalizing thieves enough to discourage them from committing these crimes is going to spill over to other smaller stores and may very well put them out of business.
I feel badly for employees and customers who are at risk when they work in stores. We need our legal leaders to do more to discourage these crimes with stiffer penalties. We all will pay more for products, and in today’s inflationary environment, this just adds to retail prices that people can’t afford. Is it going to be the death of someone that will raise this issue to a higher level of concern?
Honestly, I’d prefer another store replace NIKE. All this shoplifting is bringing criminals into Watertown.