Belmont Police Log, Jan. 18-23: Road rage on Johnson Street, check forgery, check fraud, suspicious activity on Clifton Street and more

The following are excerpts from the Belmont Police log as made available by the Belmont Police Department. The log is public and available for review. All persons are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. 

Thursday, Jan. 18

12:27 p.m.: Hill Road resident reported fraud. She got an email that appeared to be from Chase Bank saying her credit card was hacked and there was a charge for $400. She called the customer service number on the email. The person who answered said they were with the Chase fraud department and they had her credit card number. They suggested she purchase gift cards to offset the cost and call her back for instruction. She came into the police station to report it. She was advised to go to the Chase Bank branch on Channing Road to check for unauthorized activity on her account. She was also advised to notify all her other financial institutions and keep an eye on her credit card accounts.

3:19 p.m.: Johnson Street resident reported a road rage incident that occurred on Jan. 15, she was driving on Maple Street heading South. A motor vehicle sped past her on her driver’s side. The driver then got out of his vehicle and began to yell at her and point at her. She believes he may have had a firearm with her. Her dashcam captured video of the incident. When she showed officers, they looked up the vehicle’s license number and contacted the driver who was a Belmont male. Officers asked him about the road rage incident. He said the woman was driving very slow, 5 miles per hour. The right blinker of the Mercedes was signaling right but it was not turning. This led him to get out of his car and yell at the driver. He said he did not have weapons on him and does not own any firearms or have a license to carry. He offered an apology, which officers passed on to the operator of the Mercedes.

6:15 p.m.: Collision in the area of 416 Pleasant St. The first motor vehicle involved is a 2009 Nissan operated by an Everett man, a 2010 Subaru operated by a Waltham man and a 2020 Subaru operated by an Arlington woman. The operator of the 2010 Subaru complained of neck pain. The operator of the Nissan said he struck the vehicle in front of him, causing the 2010 Subaru to be struck from behind and strike the 2020 Subaru. The operator of the Nissan and 2010 Subaru were both transported to Mount Auburn Hospital. The Nissan and 2010 Subaru were towed. The operator of the Nissan was issued a citation for following too close.

Friday, Jan. 19

11:17 a.m.: A Payson Road resident reported a suspicious email. She found one that had an invoice from PayPal for $790 for a car payment. She doesn’t use PayPal. She makes her car payments through the credit union. She contacted PayPal and they confirmed the email was spam. They recommended she file a police report and delete the email.

2:59 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported harassing phone calls and texts and were advised how to pursue a harassment prevention order.

Saturday, Jan. 20

12:51 p.m.: Collision in area of Church Street and Trapelo Road between a 2008 Toyota operated by a Watertown man and a 2018 Toyota operated by a Watertown man. The 2008 Toyota was parked in front of Tatte. As he was pulling out of his parking space, he tried to make a left turn on Church Street when the 2018 Toyota crashed into him. The operator of the 2018 Toyota said he was driving on Trapelo Road when the 2008 Toyota pulled out of its parking space and tried to make a U-turn. There was major left front-end damage to the 2008 Toyota. The 2018 Toyota had moderate damage to the right rear. The 2018 Toyota was towed and the operator of the 2008 Toyota was issued a citation for failure to yield and registration not in possession.

2:05 p.m.: Officers responded to a Walnut Street resident concerning suspicious activity. At approximately 1:15 p.m., a female stopped by the house saying she worked for a realtor and was there to do an early viewing of the house, which went on the market the night before. The open house was scheduled for Sunday the 21^st. Based on the woman’s explanation, they let her into the home for a walk through. Afterwards, they told their real estate agent about it. She recommended they contact the Belmont Police. They called the real estate office who said it was a potential buyer but they did not instruct her to do what she did. Officers spoke to the buyer. She said she thought it was the date and time of the open house but the residents allowed her into the house anyway. She apologized for the mix-up.

Sunday, Jan. 21

5:44 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported someone was taking photos of her home earlier in the day between 10 a.m. and noon. The neighbor took photos of the male who was taking the photos. It was a black male wearing a black jacket, gray hoody and blue jeans. Shortly after, he got into his car and drove away. The vehicle had an Indiana license plate.

Tuesday, Jan. 23

2:03 p.m.: An Olmstead Drive resident reported fraud. She was fooled into accepting a fake check. Back in early December she was contacted by someone she believes to be a friend, an attorney who resided in Australia. He informed him he was currently undergoing dialysis treatment and asked her to cash a check for him from a client, and send the money to him via What’s App. She asked him why he couldn’t have the client send the check to him in Australia, but he said it would take too long. She then received the check, cashed it at her bank and sent the money. She then received a notification from Santander that her account was overdrawn for $7,450,79 and the fraud operations department was notified. Officers asked her if she remembered the name of the apparent client on the check and she could not remember. She said she knew the lawyer for at least two years but could not provide officers with his first name. She gave them a phone number for him. She was advised a report would be generated.

2:50 p.m.: Officers spoke to a Plymouth resident concerning check forgery. Someone altered a check he sent. He recently notified Cambridge Savings Bank about the incident. On Jan. 13, after leaving work, he dropped off several pieces of mail in the Waverley Square mailbox. One piece of mail had a check made out to Belmont Light for $45.33. He was notified by Cambridge Savings that on Jan. 22, a check in the amount of $4,453 was cashed and the name on the check was Christian Cocone. He is working with Cambridge Savings Bank to correct the situation and is giving officers a copy of the altered check.

6:05 p.m.: Collision in area of 606 Trapelo Road between a 2010 Jeep operated by a Watertown man and a 2018 Volkswagen operated by a Watertown man. The operator of the Jeep rear-ended the Volkswagen. The operator of the Jeep was issued a citation for following too close.

6:10 p.m.: Clifton Street resident reported suspicious activity. At 5:30 a.m., she saw a van stop in front of her house. A man exited the van and walked up to her front door and stook there for two minutes before driving away. It was a dark van. The man was older and walked strange. She was not concerned until she saw footsteps leading to her front door.

There were five domestic calls between Jan. 18 and Jan. 24, one included a criminal complaint filed for violation of a restraining order. There were also five mental health calls.