The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
May 22: Watertown Police responded to a call from Ulta in Arsenal Yards about a shoplifting that had just occurred. The store clerk said a man left five minutes earlier after grabbing a cologne and sweatshirt, and setting the alarm off when he left without paying. He left in a white vehicle. Police got the plate number and located it outside Nike. It was unoccupied. Officers went into Nike and spotted the man. He became agitated when officers tried to put handcuffs on and he pulled away and ran toward the exit. Officer Devon Shatkin stood near the door to try to prevent him from leaving and he lowered his shoulder and knocked her over. He ran across the parking lot and then across Arsenal Street to get to Best Buy. The suspect then ran through the store and into the Watertown Mall. Officers Mike Hill and Mike Gryzelcyk, and Sgt. Mark Leitner were waiting in back of the mall and caught up with him, placing him in custody. He had $271 in merchandise from Ulta and $340 in items from Nike. Abdul Barnhill, 19 of Boston, was arrested on two counts of larceny under $1,200, and one count each of resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer. The officer sustained minor injuries.
May 22: A man and woman entered Marcou Jewelers and the woman asked to see a bracelet in the display case. An employee took a display stand out with multiple pieces of jewelry on it. The man was speaking with the employee when the woman took three pieces worth a total of $8,800. Police are investigating.
May 22: A woman parked her Tesla in the Purple Garage at Arsenal Yards and a short time later she received a notification that someone tried to enter the car, but no entry was gained. A man was seen riding around the garage trying to open doors.
May 23: A Watertown resident received paperwork from seven different stores about someone trying to open accounts in the resident’s name. The person is not sure how their personal information was obtained.
May 24: Officer Sean Bowler responded to Arsenal Yards for the report of a stolen bike. A Fuji bike valued at $1,500 was taken from a parking garage. It had been secured with a U lock but the lock had been cut and the bike was gone.
May 24: A Samsung Galaxy cellphone with a $1,900 price tag was taken from Best Buy. Officer Bowler responded to the call.
May 24: A Bigelow Avenue resident said that someone called to say that they were from Xfinity and the resident needed to renew the membership by sending Target gift cards. The resident went to target and purchased the gift cards and after the numbers on the cards were given to the person from Xfinity, the call was disconnected. The resident realized it was a scam. Officer Matt Donnell took the report.
May 25: A delivery driver was headed down Palfrey Street and came upon a red sedan parked in the middle of the street. The delivery driver went around the vehicle and afterward he could tell the other driver was upset. The red car followed aggressively and followed when the delivery driver turned on to Downey Street. The man pulled up next to him and the two exchanged words. The driver of the red car held up what appeared to be a black handgun. The delivery driver was shaken and went to the Police Station to report what happened. Officer Donnell investigated. Sgt. Leitner and Officer Andrew DiDuca were able to find the vehicle and spoke to the driver, who admitted to getting into an altercation and pulling out a black Airsoft pellet gun. Raffi Lachinian, 22, of Watertown, was arrested on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.
May 25: Officer DiDuca was on patrol on Arsenal Street when he spotted a Mercedes Benz with all the side windows tinted so dark that nothing was visible in the vehicle, including light. The car was pulled over and DiDuca discovered the driver had been cited multiple times for the tint, and his license was suspended. Shamere Ross, 34 of Brighton, was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license and was cited for the tint.
May 25: A shoplifter took $428 worth of merchandise from Target.
May 26: A man was seen shoplifting from Nike. Officers Lauren Giordano and Nick Martino responded and were told the man left on an electric scooter. Store security recognized the man from a previous shoplifting on May 18. The officers knew he had been seen previously on Pleasant Street and began heading in that direction. Martino located the suspect on Main Street near Cuba Street. Jeff Chang, 44, was arrested on two counts of larceny.
May 27: Officer Chris Peterson responded to a motor vehicle accident on Main Street at Myrtle Street. One of the drivers had an odor of alcohol. He did not have a driver’s license, just a Guatemalan ID. Field sobriety tests were conducted and police arrested Rigoberto Eriquez-Garcia, 30, of Waltham, on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license.
May 27: Someone opened a Citibank account in the name of a resident. The resident believes her personal information may have been taken from a check with her Social Security Number on it.
May 28: A pair of solicitors for Hello Fresh was going door-to-door on Lloyd Street. A resident thought they were being aggressive. They did not have a permit. Police were called and said that they had to have a permit to solicit door-to-door in town.
The triple whammy of an accident, under the influence, and no license has to win Rigoberto Eriquez-Garcia some kind of prize. A free ticket back to Guatemala, I suggest. And no, it’s not funny.
As our Comradewealth gives driving licenses to illegals as a matter of course (they need those voters’ registrations), Rigoberto could have avoided at least one charge. But it doesn’t matter now. No Mensa prize for this one either.
Good riddance, Rigoberto. Too bad Abdul can’t join you.
Licenses are given as a matter of law actually…a law strongly supported by law enforcement at the time of passages, particularly major city police chiefs. Are they soft on crime?
Actually, actually, actually (as it seems to be a favored adverb by some), some basic English help is required here:
matter of course
noun phrase
Synonyms of matter of course
: something that is to be expected as a natural or logical consequence.
Logical consequence is the operative word. As when after a law is passed.
As to safety:
MSN
“ The father of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, the Milford teen detained by ICE, has driving infractions dating back to 2014, a source familiar with his driving record tells 25 Investigates.
On Monday, ICE officials said they were looking for Marcelo’s father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, because he had a habit of reckless driving, including going over 100-hundred miles an hour in residential areas.
25 Investigates found one record in the courts of a citation issued in July 2023.
According to court records, Milford police cited Gomes-Pereira for failing to yield to a stop sign and driving with a revoked license as a habitual traffic offender.
It’s not clear exactly why his license was revoked.”
Illegal aliens don’t care, license or not. Can’t wait for the Pereiras to get a one-way ticket.
Yet RE-G had none. Sort of a triple-and-a-half whammy. If that were a dive, a judge would reward the degree of difficulty. As a crime (crimes, plural), I expect the judge to be equally generous. And yes, many major city police chiefs—and/or their judicial/political bosses—are soft on crime. They boast of it.
Agree. Many of them are, as they get their orders from whoever is running their towns and cities. Boston, Somerville, Worcester, etc. are good examples of what you have quoted.
Thank God for our Watertown PD.
Police Chiefs are soft on crime. Another Bizarro world claim from MAGA.
We all remember Mayor Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore. But if you don’t:
“I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech.”
Fair enough. That was ten years ago, after the death of Freddy Gray (in police custody). But then:
“It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well, and we work very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate.”
Roll that around in your mind: “We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”
Trying to strike a different tone, a few days later she said (and regretted saying):
“Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who, in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down what so many have fought for.”
The “T word” has become a loaded term, but President Obama defended her use of it—and even used it himself. Unsurprisingly, she declined to run for reelection in 2016—but that didn’t stop those she betrayed from seeking redress in 2017:
BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Dozens of Baltimore City business owners have filed suit against the Baltimore Police Department, former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other city officials, claiming they mishandled the City’s response to the 2015 rioting, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Which sure sounds like the citizens of Baltimore held her, the State’s attorney Marilyn Mosby, and the BPD responsible for Baltimore being “destroyed”.
I can’t find the results of that lawsuit, but a more recent one—this year—has been decided:
BALTIMORE — Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has been ordered to repay a $2 million business loan, according to court documents. […] According to the latest court order, issued on Jan. 22, 2025, Rawlings-Blake must repay the $2,109,114 loan along with the cost of the lawsuit and interest after Jan. 8 at a rate of $562.02 per day.
“Bizarro” is just the word, Paul. Police Chiefs have to answer to their political bosses like Mayor Rawlings-Blake, the public be damned.
MAGA support police when they assist ICE in terrorizing 18-year olds driving their dad’s car…but not so much when they are defending the nation’s capital during an insurrection. And they disdain the legitimately elected leaders of cities and towns across the Commonwealth because they aren’t the candidates they voted for. And they have ruined the state GOP’s ability to win statewide office after a long list of Republicans were able to win before. It’s endless.
Oh. MAGA, MAGA and bonus January 16!!! Missed DOGE, however. I guess not much call for Russia, Russia anymore.
It matters not. The 18 year old wasn’t terrorized. He was apprehended. And he will be deported with the rest. Thank you ICE!
Did you know that police are supporting ICE in MA and elsewhere? They just don’t advertise it.
Be kind, Erik. Right now, there are people converging on the Tesla location on Pleasant Street, who can’t decide whether to finish the drive or turn around and go home. How many Subarus are stopped in the middle of the road, their hazard lights blinking, unsure whether their “Elon is a traitor!” sign is on message or not. Personally, I haven’t seen this much palace intrigue since… well, 2024, when President Biden dropped (or was thrown) out of the presidential race. There were so many knives in backs back then it looked like a casting call for Julius Caesar. Anyway, if the Tesla protest is called off, there’s the town wide swap meet at the Recycling Center nearby. In clutter as in politics, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
Thanks. I enjoyed the chuckle.
As to our friends, left of center, left of left:
“The multitude which does not reduce itself to unity is confusion.”
Blaise Pascal
Errata: January 6, that is. Otherwise you may start rumors of a second “insurrection”.
It was January 6. MAGA hopes we forget, even after Trump pardoned every insurrectionist whether they assaulted police officers or not. And people will only be deported after due process (per the U.S. Constitution) IF Trump doesn’t continue to ignore the courts (in violation of that same U.S. Constitution). MAGA has no problem deporting a teenager who came here as a child and has only ever lived as an American. The rest of the nation, the majority of the nation, does not agree.
Yes, it was, that’s why I corrected my typo. Glad you agree.
Wrong. Two-thirds of all Americans surveyed said they support deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally. Go look it up.
And most have no problem deporting a teenager or anybody else here illegally. MAGA and ICE are (dare I say it) actually doing a fantastic job. Keep at it!
Bye, bye.