The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Feb. 5: A resident of School Street noticed that his car had been rummaged through. Nothing appeared to be missing. It occurred between 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 and 7 a.m. on the 5th. The owner forgot to lock the doors.
Feb. 5, 1:55 p.m.: An officer patrolling on Main Street queried the license plate of a vehicle and discovered the owner did not have a Massachusetts license and had multiple outstanding warrants. The vehicle was stopped and police confirmed the owner was driving. James Higgins, 26, of Watertown, was arrested on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and the warrants: one from Brockton District Court for larceny under $1,200 by a single scheme, one from Somerville District Court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and one from Waltham District Court for conspiracy (credit card fraud).
Feb. 5, 4:27 p.m.: Best Buy reported an incident that occurred on Jan. 31 when a man and woman entered the store. The woman was holding a baby. The man put a baby carrier in the shopping cart and they walked over to the camera aisle. He took a Canon Powershot camera and placed it under the blanket in the baby carrier. They walked out without paying for the camera, which is worth $750. Police are investigating.
Feb. 5, 5 p.m.: A woman was detained by Target security after she went through the self-service checkout and did not scan 13 items worth $373. She was stopped as she was leaving without paying. Security recognized the woman from previous incidents. Taylor Lacorte, 35, of Boston, was taken into custody and when police were booking her they found she had a substance believed to be drugs, and she also had 10 outstanding warrants. She was arrested for shoplifting, possession of Class B drugs, and warrants from district courts in Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge, Quincy, and Brighton for a variety of charges, including breaking and entering, burglary, larceny from a building, shoplifting, possession of a Class A drug, and possession of a Class B drug.
Feb. 5, 5 p.m.: A Bradford Road resident received a phone call from someone who said he was his daughter’s lawyer. The caller said the resident’s daughter had gotten into an auto accident when she was driving while texting, and said she was arrested and needed $20,000 in cash. The resident was told to take the money out of the bank, and if the teller asks he should tell the teller he is remodeling his home. The resident took out the money and the caller told the resident a man was on the way to collect the money. The resident stayed on the phone when the man arrived and the resident gave him the money and was told to say “have a nice day.” The man took the money, got into a blue sedan and left. The resident later found out the daughter had not been in an accident and they realized it was a scam.
Feb. 6, 12 p.m.: A bike was locked to the railing of the front staircase of a home on Arthur Terrace. The Fuji Absolute 1.9 bike was last seen on Feb. 5 and gone on the 6th. It is worth $600.
Feb. 6, 12 p.m.: A resident received a call from Watertown Savings Bank saying that someone had attempted to cash a check for $17,800. It was originally written for $95, and the resident put it into the mailbox in front of City Hall. A bank employee recognized something strange with the check and did not cash it.
Feb. 6, 2 p.m.: A woman came into Old Navy with a Marshalls shopping bag. She took numerous items into the fitting room and was in there for about 10 minutes. She removed 11 anti-theft devices off the items and then walked out without paying. The merchandise was worth over $250.
Feb. 6, 2:30 p.m.: Packages had been stolen from a building on Whites Avenue on multiple occasions. The resident received confirmation that packages had been delivered on Nov. 7, Dec. 20, and Jan. 23 packages, but she could not find them.
Feb. 7, 1:35 p.m.: Police received a report of graffiti from the Anti-Defamation League along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. Multiple messages were spray painted along the path, including “Free Palestine,” “End U.S. Aid to Israel,” “Stop the Genocide,” “F— Israel,” “Save Palestine,” and “Save Gaza.”
Feb. 7, 4:30 p.m.: A man and woman walked into Target and took an Amazon Fire TV Stick, placed it into a green tote, and left without paying. It was valued at $50.
Feb. 7, 10 p.m: Two Son’s of Italy members were sitting at the bar at the Hall on Pleasant Street and got into an argument. The bartender asked one of the men to leave, and he refused. He continued to cause a disturbance and people in the hall escorted him out. While doing so, the man turned around and punched a man in the eye, fracturing his orbital lobe. Thomas Langione, 46, of Watertown, was arrested for assault and battery on a person over 60.
Feb. 8, 3 p.m.: A bike was left at a bike rack outside Target, near Elm Street. The maroon Specialized bike, valued at $500, was not locked, and when the owner came back out it was gone.
Feb. 9, 2 p.m.: A resident reported that he had received a report that someone tried to use his Metro Credit Union card at a branch in Peabody. The withdrawal was halted, and Peabody Police were alerted.
Feb. 9, 6 p.m.: A woman came into Ulta carrying a brown paper bag, placed eyeliner, lip gloss, and perfume, worth $121 into the bag. She left without paying.
Feb. 9, 7:45 p.m.: Police received multiple calls for a vehicle that had crashed into a utility pole on Main Street. Officers arrived and found a grey Ford F-150 with front-end damage, the windshield was cracked, and the airbag had deployed. The driver was standing in the roadway and had an odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot eyes, and was slurring his words. He refused to take field sobriety tests. Michael King, 53, of Watertown, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol — a second offense, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Feb. 10, 2 p.m: A man entered Nike and took a pair of sneakers off the rack and put them in his backpack. Then he took a second pair of sneakers and put them inside his winter coat, and walked out without paying. Each pair of shoes was valued at $135.
Feb. 12, 3:30 p.m.: Two women entered Nike, grabbed numerous items and walked out with the items in their arms. The estimated value of the merchandise was $2,500.
Feb. 12, 7 p.m.: A woman went into Ulta and took four bottles of perfume and placed them in her bag. She left without paying for at least $500 of merchandise. The same woman was seen shoplifting at Ulta in December.
Feb. 12, 9:40 p.m.: Multiple people reported a black sedan driving back and forth on Waltham Street honking its horn. When police arrived, people pointed out a black Kia parked on the street. Witnesses said it had been driving erratically. As officers approached, the vehicle made an illegal U-turn. The vehicle was stopped a short time later. The driver had an odor of alcohol on her breath, had bloodshot eyes, and was unsteady on her feet. She admitted to drinking alcohol earlier in the day. She did not pass field sobriety tests, and police also found the vehicle had not been registered. Victoria Scott, 41, of Lexington, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.
Feb. 13, 4:30 p.m.: Two women entered Ulta. They were in the store for about 10 minutes and left without paying for 11 items worth almost $1,300.
Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.: A man in a hooded sweatshirt went into Ulta and took male fragrances.
Does anything actually happen to people who get arrested for these crimes? Are they brought to the police station and do they spend any time at all in jail before being released? Are they ever charged or is it just noted that they were arrested?
I am also curious how they are able to report such precise amounts of what the items are worth when there is shoplifting and the person leaves without being stopped. Does some employee just watch people stick things in a bag and tally it up before watching them walk out? I’m guessing employees are told not to stop them for fear of violence?
In terms of the value of the items stolen, sometimes the items can be seen by an employee or on security video. Also, I believe stores do an inventory after a shoplifting and see what’s missing.
Don’t you just love the criminals that are repeat offenders! It’s like playing the Monopoly game and getting a ‘chance’ card saying “Get out of jail free”. Many are out on bail and/or have other warrants out for them. Yet they are allowed to continue committing crimes that we are all paying for with increased prices and the concern that we will lose needed stores when they can’t afford to lose more money.
How discouraging it must be for our police who need to fill out all the necessary paperwork, knowing that most of these criminals will not be punished at all.
I just finished a walk along the Watertown/Cambridge Greenway, and the antisemitic graffiti is still there, 20 days after the report cited above. How much longer? I seem to recall the town rightly reacted with a lot more alacrity when BLM signs were defaced. But no, “F— Israel” is going on four weeks, like it’s a permanent exhibit at the MFA. Whichever department has authority over the several underpasses where the offensive language assaults the passersby, grab a bucket of Kilz and a roller and do your job.