Police/Fire

‘Click It or Ticket’ – Watertown Police Participating in Seatbelt Law Enforcement

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The Watertown Police Department in partnership with the Highway Safety Division of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the Massachusetts State Police, and more than 200 Massachusetts police departments will take part in the national Click It or Ticket campaign between May 9 and May 23. This high-visibility enforcement campaign will promote seat belt use through increased traffic enforcement. The campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “As we begin the busy summer driving season, it is crucial that all motorists buckle up every time they go out, day and night,” said Sgt. David Sampson.

Around Town

Drug Overdoses Continue to Plague Watertown But Narcan Has Saved Many

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Heroin and opiate painkillers continue to be a problem in Watertown in 2016, but the anti-overdose medicine Narcan has helped save lives. 

Deaths due to overdose have been reported in Watertown for the past few years, but the problem escalated in 2015, with several deaths and scores of overdoses. Town officials hosted an event to bring attention to the crisis, which often begins with legally prescribed painkillers, and a candlelight vigil was put on by local citizen-run groups

This year, Watertown’s first responders have responded to dozens of drug overdoses, said Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn. “It was a quiet time for a little while,” Lawn said. “There have been overdoses in other towns, too. Fitchburg had like 10 over (a recent) weekend.”

Police/Fire

2 Women Caught Running a Shoe Theft Ring at Marshalls

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Police busted two women who tried to return shoes at the Marshalls in the Arsenal Mall which they had taken from another location of the store. 

On the afternoon of May 5, security at Marshalls spotted two women in line, and bother were seen returning shoes for gift cards, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. One woman returned two pairs of shoes and got a gift card for $698, O’Connor said. The second woman, identified as Brianna Andrews of Dracut, returned two pieces of clothing and two pairs of shoes for a total of $372.97, which she received on a gift card. “When she was leaving she picked up three notebooks off the sales counter and concealed them in her pocketbook,” O’Connor said. “She tried to leave without paying but she was detained by security.”

Police/Fire

Watertown Man Gets 2 Years in Federal Prison for Insider Trading

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A Boston-area real estate developer was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $1 million fine after he was convicted earlier this year of engaging in insider trading for buying – and later selling – shares of Wainwright Bank & Trust Company (“Wainwright”) based on a tip that Wainwright would be acquired.  Prior to the acquisition, shares of Wainwright traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Robert H. Bray, 78, of Watertown, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young. In January, Bray, the owner of R&B Construction, a construction and real estate development company, was convicted of one count of securities fraud following a four-day trial. In June 2010, Bray was tipped by a friend who was an executive at Boston-based Eastern Bank Corp. that Wainwright would be acquired.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Woman Tries to Use Fake ID to Buy MacBook, Wheels Stolen Off Car at Dealership

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
April 26, 6:15 p.m.: Best Buy security caught a woman who tried to use a fake ID and credit card to buy a MacBook Pro worth $2,500. The Pennsylvania license she used did not pass the machine that tests IDs, and the lamination was peeling. When police arrived, the woman produced a second ID that did not checkout, either. Finally she gave them an ID from New York that checked out.

Police/Fire

Man Arrested After Cigarette Links Him to Watertown Home Break In

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Watertown Police were able to link a man to a home break in through the brand of cigarette that he smokes. 

On May 1 at 11:15 p.m. Watertown Police received a call from a Winsor Avenue resident who said a man had just broken into her home, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “The man entered here apartment and she had no idea who the person was,” O’Connor said. “She was upstairs when she heard her front door open. She went downstairs and saw a male in the interior of her apartment and she began yelling for him to get out. She was able to physically push him out, locked the door and called police.”

Fire

Fire Destroys 2 Boats at Yacht Club Across River from Watertown

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A fire at the Newton Yacht Club destroyed two boats on the Charles River just across the way from Watertown. 

The fire erupted in the early hours of Tuesday morning and firefighting efforts were hampered by the long distance to the nearest fire hydrant, according to the Boston Globe article. The Yacht Club is located on Nonantum Road, across the river from Perkins School for the Blind. See the whole Globe article here.

Police/Fire

Police Respond to Call, Find One Car Missing, One With 2 Stolen Plates

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A Watertown resident thought her car was stolen by a man she had hired to paint her house and his girlfriend, but it turned out the car they arrived in was the sketchy one. 

On April 21 at 3 p.m., a Fairfield Street resident called police to report that her car was missing and the man she leant it to also had a bank check she had given him, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “During the day she let they guy and his girlfriend take her vehicle to get supplies for her job,” O’Connor said. “Later in the day, when the people didn’t come back, she called police and at the time reported the vehicle stolen and he had a bank check and a small amount of cash.” She was able to cancel the bank check. At about 5:30 p.m., she called Police again to report the vehicle had been returned.