Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/policefire/)
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
Aug. 30, 1:43 p.m.: Employees at Vero Watertown on Coolidge Hill Road spotted some suspicious people in the woods behind the senior assisted living home. Some men were walking in the wooded area between Vero and Filippello Park. Police located three men who had several bikes in the trees.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
Aug. 18, 6:43 a.m.: Police received a report of a man yelling, waving his arms and acting erratically on Cottage Street. Officers located a man fitting the description. He was holding a bottle of alcohol, which he discarded when he spotted police officers.
The following announcement was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts:
A father and his two sons were charged yesterday in connection with a “ten-percenting” scheme in which they allegedly cashed winning Massachusetts state lottery tickets on behalf of the ticket holders to avoid taxes on the winnings.
Ali Jaafar, 62, and Yousef Jaafar, 28, both of Watertown, and Mohamed Jaafar, 30, of Watertown and Waltham, and were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of filing false tax returns. According to the charging documents, the defendants conspired with others to purchase winning lottery tickets from the actual winners for cash, at a discount that was typically between 10-20 percent of each ticket’s value, thereby allowing the ticket holders to avoid reporting the winnings on their tax returns – a scheme commonly known as “ten-percenting.” The defendants and co-conspirators then allegedly presented the winning tickets to the Massachusetts Lottery Commission as their own and collected the full value of the tickets. It is also alleged that the defendants reported the ticket winnings as their own on their income tax returns and improperly offset the claimed winnings with purported gambling losses, thereby avoiding federal income taxes.
Between 2011 and 2019, the defendants together cashed more than 13,000 lottery tickets and claimed more than $20,989,284 in Massachusetts lottery winnings. Based upon their submitted lottery claims, in 2019, Ali Jaafar was the top individual lottery ticket casher for Massachusetts. Mohamed Jaafar was the third highest individual ticket casher and Yousef Jaafar was the fourth highest individual ticket casher.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
None
Incidents
Aug. 9, 12:30 p.m.: A Palfrey Street resident discovered her car had been broken into. She believes she locked the doors but wasn’t sure. There were no signs of forced entry.
Clipart PandaA coyote. A dog was killed and another was injured when they were attacked by a pack of coyotes in Watertown. Watertown Police put out a warning on Monday about the attack that took place at about 11 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 15. They warned residents to be aware of coyotes, that have been spotted recently in on the streets and bike paths in the East End of Watertown.
We take a lot for granted. It’s human nature to live each day believing that what we regard as normal will stay that way. We often cling to this belief even when we know, deep in our gut, that change is inevitable. It’s one thing to deal with change that happens gradually, allowing time to digest it. Even that can be disturbing, but when change comes all at once and seemingly out of the blue, we are likely to find it jarring.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
Boston Man Busted on Firearms Charges After Rolling Car in Watertown
Incidents
Aug. 2, 9:24 a.m.: A Channing Road resident received a letter from the state unemployment office saying a claim had been made in his name. The man did not file the claim and is trying to resolve the problem with the state. Aug.
Fire, bicycle and water safety as well as physical fitness will be the focus of this year’s Virtual Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA), the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office announced (preview video link). “We are excited to once again be able to offer a series of online lessons for youngsters living in our 54 cities and towns,” said Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “While we are disappointed we are not able to meet in person this summer, our YPSA staff and community partners have put together an outstanding set of public safety and health lessons for children and families.”
This year’s Virtual YPSA sessions will be available on the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels during the week of August 15–21. Each lesson will run between approximately 20-25 minutes in length. The first episode — recorded on site at the Wilmington Fire Department — will focus on fire and kitchen safety with a bonus feature on making homemade grilled cheese. It will be released on August 16.
Episode number two – recorded in conjunction with the Cambridge Police Department and Middlesex District Attorney’s Office — will center on bicycle and water safety. It will premiere on August 18. The final episode will be focused on physical fitness and will be available on August 20. That lesson was recorded at Malden’s Macdonald in partnership with the Malden Recreation Department.
A Boston man faces charges for firearm offenses after he got into an accident in Watertown. On Aug. 2, at about 4:45 a.m., Watertown Police went to Watertown Square for a vehicle that had rolled over during an accident. Both people involved said they were OK, and one of them, later identified as Jahvon Burton, had cuts to the head and body, said Watertown Police Sgt. Ken Swift.
