Belmont Police Log, July 31-Aug. 7, 2023: Checks altered, credit card fraud, vandalism to car and home, unwanted pool visitors 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.

Monday, July 31

11:35 a.m.: Collision in area of Pleasant and Clifton Streets between a 2022 Nissan operated by a Winchester man and a 2016 Toyota operated by a Billerica man. The operator of the Nissan was struck by the Toyota when he was attempting to merge into the other lane. There were no injuries. Both vehicles were towed from the scene. The operator of the Nissan was issued a citation for marked lanes violation.

5:46 p.m.: A Gordon Terrace resident reported fraud. Someone opened a credit card in her name and charged $332 to the account. She checked her Credit Karma account and noticed the credit card. She called the Credit One Bank and informed them she did not open that credit card. She was advised to continue to monitor her credit score for any further charges.

Tuesday, Aug. 1

7:35 a.m.: Collision in the area of Pleasant Street and Trapelo Road between a 2012 Subaru operated by a Waltham woman and a 2014 Toyota operated by a Belmont woman. There were no injuries. The operator of the Subaru was attempting to make a left turn onto Pleasant Street when she collided with the Toyota. She said she had the green light but was unaware the intersection also had a green arrow signal. The operator of the Toyota said the Subaru cut into her travel lane as she was travelling on Trapelo Road. The Toyota was towed. The operator of the Subaru was issued a citation for failure to stop for a traffic light.

11:42 a.m.: A Common Street resident reported fraud. Someone used his debit card in Florida on three different occasions totaling $1,500. He became aware of it when he received a text from Bank of America on July 20^th asking him if he was trying to make a $1,000 purchase. The card was used two times on July 20^th at Canyon Town Center in Boynton, Florida for $500 each. That same day his card was used at Wycliff Lake in Florida for another $500. He cancelled his account and had another debit card issued to him. However, he also discovered, this same person set up an online banking account using his work email. The account was last accessed July 22^nd. The address of the account owner was in Delray Beach, Florida. He was advised to contact the credit bureaus and place a freeze on his personal information and to call if he sees any other fraudulent activity.

Wednesday, Aug. 2

1:28 a.m.: A Claflin Street resident reported a rock thrown through a glass door. There was shattered glass on the front lawn and front steps of the residence and a large hole in the glass pane of the front door. The residents said they heard a loud noise which sounded like an explosion. Then, they noticed the hole in the door and shattered glass and saw a large rock on the walkway in front of their house. Twenty minutes before the call, officers noticed five teens walking in Belmont Center on Leonard Street toward that area. Through an investigation of the video surveillance from nearby Ring cameras, the juveniles were identified. Their parents were notified and appropriate action will be taken.

9:29 p.m.: Officers placed an intoxicated Billerica woman into protective custody.

Thursday, Aug. 3

10:05 a.m.: Security from Belmont Hill School Athletic Center reported a male on the track. At 9 a.m., two young girls were running on the track. Since they weren’t there for the camp, they were asked to leave. They went over to a man sitting on the wall and spoke to him. As he stood up to leave, he seemed angry and knocked the girls’ water bottles to the ground. The security director informed him he needed to leave before 8:45 a.m. due to the camp starting. The man apologized and said the girls were running late. He said he and his daughters usually use the track early in the morning. His license plate was registered to an Arlington address. Belmont Hill Security asked officers to inform him the track was only for Belmont neighbors.

Friday, Aug. 4

4:14 p.m.: Ripley Road resident reported fraudulent activity with his M & T Bank account. He has been unable to log into his account. He recently learned his balance is lower than it should be and discovered there were three checks written against his checking account that appear to have been altered. He wrote a check to himself on May 4^th from M & T to Citizens Bank. He deposited the check for $600. However, that same check appears to have been altered and was written on May 31^st for $1,500 payable to Lakenia Gibson. Another check payable to the same person was written on June 8^th for $1,850 and a third check payable to the same person was written on June 6^th for $1,890. M & T Bank informed him the checks were cashed at Citizens Bank. It appears his signature was copied and the check was duplicated. There are also multiple amounts starting on April 4^th, transferred from his checking and savings account at M & T Bank. They were multiple small amounts through ACT Verify as well as a few large amounts to a loan pay company. The total transferred for checking account was $2,382.19 and the total transferred from the savings account was $9,411.66. The total amount lost between checks written and transfers was $17,033.85. M & T has cancelled his account and is starting to refund some of the amounts taken. He will speak to Citizens Bank to check his accounts. For now, everything appears to be fine.

4:29 p.m.: A Trapelo Road resident reported fraudulent charges on his credit card. He was notified by Fraud Alert someone used his Citizens Bank account credit card for $371.86 on Meta.com to purchase a Meta Quest headset. All the information was his used in the purchase, but the shipping address was changed to an address in Boston. When he contacted Meta.com, they informed him the item was already mailed and scheduled for delivery Aug. 8^th. Citizens Bank has cancelled the account. There are no other charges at this time.

Saturday, Aug. 5

5:03 p.m.: Cal Verde Naturals on Pleasant Street reported attempted fraud. The business got a call at 4:18 p.m. from someone claiming to be with Belmont Light who said they will be shutting the power off to the business unless they paid $500 for the outstanding fee. The caller ID was “Town of Belmont, 617-993-2800.” They called Belmont Light and confirmed they did not owe $500 and their power would not be shut off.

Sunday, Aug. 6

5 a.m.: Fire reported at 196 Beech St. It was already extinguished by the Belmont Fire Department. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

6:14 a.m.: Olmstead Drive resident reported vandalism to a motor vehicle, a 2016 Infiniti. The exterior of the vehicle was covered in shaving cream, egg shells, egg yolk and bologna. Officers observed the front left tire to be slashed. The vehicle also had scratches. The resident said he has a video surveillance camera in his apartment which faces the parking lot in the area where his vehicle was parked. He played back the video and it appears that at 3:42 a.m., an unknown individual wearing a black and white zip-up jacket with the hood up and shorts. Another resident told officers they woke up to a loud pop sound at 4:30 a.m. She then observed a person running further into the apartment complex after she heard the noise. The vehicle owner said he found a kitchen knife in front of an apartment nearby which he believes may have been used to slash his tire. Officers advised him to keep a copy of the Ring video to give to detectives for further investigation.

Monday, Aug. 7

10:10 a.m.: Acorn Park Drive management office reported trespassing. The assistant property manager said there were a group of six young men and women using the outdoor pool area, late Saturday night into Sunday afternoon. They were not authorized to do so and she did not recognize any of the individuals. If they were guests of residents, the residents must accompany the guests to the pool area. They were not accompanied. They were playing loud music, smoking marijuana, and speaking loudly. Several residents informed her of the incidents and sent photos to her. She recognized one of the individuals from a similar incident last summer. She was advised officers will be filing a report and to contact the residents to call police if they see people they do not recognize at the pool.

12:02 p.m.: Belmont Hill School reported a theft. They met with the security director who said on July 27^th at 10:25 p.m., a dark vehicle entered the main parking area and removed four traffic cones placed in reserved parking spots. The individual placed the cones inside the vehicle and drove away. The cones were worth $43 each. He was hoping officers could contact the vehicle owner and ask them to return the cones with no penalty. Officers contacted the wife of the vehicle owner and informed her of the incident. She had no idea any of this happened but she will find out. One of her children may have been driving the car. Officers provided her with Belmont Hill security director’s phone number and she said she would contact him.

2:15 p.m.: A Hittinger Street resident reported fraud. They posted their car, a 2015 Nissan for sale on Cars.com and Chrysler.com. A friend notified them a picture of their car was posted on Facebook for sale by Robert Celestin, Jr. They did not know this person and did not give him permission to use the photo of their car. Officers said they would file a report concerning this.

4:43 p.m.: A Frost Road resident reported fraud. He received a letter in the mail from the US Small Business Administration stating he had a payment due for a loan. He called the Small Business Administration to inform them he did not apply for loan. He was advised to file a police report and fill out an identity theft form. The loan was taken out in the name of his company for $150,000. He was not aware of the loan until he received the letter in the mail stating he owed a payment. The FBI will be investigating.

7:59 p.m.: A Tobey Road resident reported a dog bite. She was walking her neighbor’s dog from Randolph Street onto Madison Street at 7:55 p.m. when a black dog ran out of a Madison Street resident’s yard, bit her on the leg, then ran back into the house. She called 911. Belmont Fire responded and evaluated her. She declined to go to the hospital. The owner of the dog told officers his dog is a rescue. He has had him for 10 years and has never bitten anyone. Both parties were informed a report would be forwarded to the Animal Control Officer.

Arrests

Providence Rhode Island man for check forgery and uttering a false check at 4:23 p.m. on Friday, July 28^th.

Roxbury woman, 32, charged with malicious damage to a motor vehicle, larceny under $1,200, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and multiple other charges on five warrants at 9:37 p.m. on July 31^st.

Officers responded to seven mental health calls, 13 domestic calls, including one charge of domestic assault and battery and another with assault with a dangerous weapon between July 27^th to Aug. 7^th.