Belmont Police Log: March 10-17, 2023
March 10
11:13 a.m.: Chandler Street resident said he dropped off a package containing a black Iphone10 at the UPS store in Cushing square on March 4th for it to be shipped. It was in an Apple box. He received an email on March 10th at 10:26 a.m. from Apple stating they received an open package with no Iphone in it. He reported the phone stolen with Apple.
March 11
8:44 p.m.: Criminal complaint against a Medford man for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and marked lanes violation.
March 12
5:19 p.m.: Belmont resident reported seven weeks ago she started talking to a man she believed was named Peter Ali Fenwick. He said he was originally from New Zealand. They texted, emailed and used WhatsApp to communicate. They also did two Zoom calls. No mention of money was ever made initially. He said he worked for a restoration architect company and he lived in the Seaport area of Boston. However she never went to his home. He told her he was going to Cyprus. Once the earthquake happened in Turkey and Syria he asked her to send money because he said his passport was taken and he needed money to get it back. He sent her a picture of his passport. He continued asking for more money so he could get to Turkey. Over a two week period she believes she sent him more than $100,000 using a Bitcoin ATM machine in the area. A couple of the machines prevented her from making the transaction. Someone from Springwell reached out to her to inform her they believed she was getting scammed. She then realized the stories seemed to be made up. She has stopped communicating with him. He is still attempting to reach her and says he won’t ask for money any more. He used a few different numbers and emails to communicate. One of the numbers was 504-325-0736. The other numbers were international. His email address was peter_fenwick@yahoo.com. His website was fenwickrestorationconsult.net. She described him as 60 years old with gray hair and a beard. Officers have contacted Springwell and will investigate the scam.
March 13
4:41 p.m.: A 2015 Mercedes operated by a Watertown man was struck in the rear at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Winter Street. He was fully stopped at the stop sign when a light gray BMW sedan struck the right rear of his vehicle and fled the scene. He was unable to see the registration of the offending vehicle. His vehicle had moderate damage to the right rear bumper. Officers were unable to locate the offending vehicle.
March 14
1:23 p.m.: Orchard Street resident said he had a phone stolen from the UPS store in Belmont. Some time in late November or early December he dropped off two Iphone11’s to be returned to Verizon for a credit of $1,600. He said Verizon never received the phones. He confronted the employees at the UPS store. They told him to call corporate and file a claim. He decided to file a police report because he found out the same thing has happened to other residents at the same store. Each phone was valued at $800.
2:16 p.m.: An Old Middlesex Road resident reported fraud. She said Verizon upgraded her service box about one month ago. Another Verizon employee fixed her television a few weeks ago. Around Feb. 23rd she received a call from an alleged Verizon representative saying she owed $160 for the television service. She said she would write a check. They asked her for the check number and checking account number. She provided it. She then realized it was a scam. She stopped the check and closed the account. On March 14th she received a call from a man named Steve stating he worked for Verizon security. He was looking for information regarding the check incident. She hung up the phone and reported the incident to the police. She was advised to never give her personal account information out over the telephone.
2:53 p.m.: A Lexington woman reported a hit and run in the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts on Pleasant Street. Her 2018 Kia was parked in a marked parking space along the fence in the parking lot. When she came out she noticed damage to her left front door. She asked if anyone saw what happened and the only person there said they did not. Belmont Police requested the camera footage from the manager. Officers were able to make contact with the owner of the offending vehicle, a 2017 Chrysler van. The owner said he didn’t realize he hit anyone when he backed out of the spot and gave his information to the operator of the vehicle he hit.
March 15
11 a.m.: A 2022 Toyota operated by a Brighton woman and a 2022 Buick operated by a Quincy man collided at the intersection of Common and Belmont Streets. Both drivers were uninjured. The operator of the Toyota said she was struck when driving through a green light. The operator of the Buick said the light was yellow. A witness who was behind the Buick said the light turned red before he entered the intersection. Both vehicles had moderate to heavy damage. The operator of the Buick was issued a citation for failure to stop for a red light.
12:06 p.m. A 2015 Audi operated by a Boston man and a 2013 Toyota operated by a Peabody woman collided in front of 405 Concord Ave., near the post office. Both parties declined medical attention. There was moderate front damage to both vehicles. The operator of the Toyota was about to make a u-turn when she realized it was illegal and stopped while the operator of the Audi passed her on the right.
2:04 p.m.: Collision in the area of Trapelo Road and Poplar Street between a 2012 Honda operated by an Arlington woman and 2018 Toyota operated by a Medford woman. The operator of the Honda said the Toyota in front of her stopped suddenly. She was assessed by Belmont Fire and Rescue because she appeared shaken up. The operator of the Toyota said she slowed down because there was a pedestrian in the crosswalk and then she was rear-ended by the Honda. The Honda sustained heavy front end damage and airbag deployment and was towed from the scene. The Toyota had moderate damage to the rear. The operator of the Honda received a citation for following too close.
March 16
7:38 a.m.: An Oxford avenue resident said she received a notification from the post office that a package was delivered to her residence the day before at approximately 4 p.m. When she looked for the package at 9 p.m. It was not there. The package contained a necklace and pendant valued at approximately $200. Unfortunately her neighbor was unable to supply any camera footage.
8:37 a.m.: A Hastings Road resident reported larceny of a check. She mailed a check on Sunday, March 12th. She put the check in the mailbox on Common Street by Riley Road. She was notified by Bank of America of possible check fraud. The original check was made out to a company for $2,500. The check was altered and cashed It was made out to a person named Junior Garcia and the amount was changed to $9,682.71. At the time of the report she did not know where the check was cashed and could not provide a copy. She has been in touch with Bank of America and believes she will not be out the money. Officers advised her not to put checks in mailboxes, especially over the weekend. The best option is to mail the check directly from the post office. If you can’t get to the post office, put it in a mailbox during a weekday morning. Do not put checks in mailboxes when they will sit overnight.
March 17
8 a.m.: A Russell Terrace resident said at 8:26 p.m. the night before her security camera alerted her to people in her driveway. The video shows a white male and white female looking around the property. They then left. She supplied officers with a picture of the individuals. They will be giving extra attention to the area. She was advised to call if this incident happens again.
11:52 a.m.: Medical on Pequossette Road.
Officers responded to four domestic and four mental health calls between March 10th and March 16th.
ARRESTS
Somerville woman arrested for operating under the influence of liquor at 2:28 a.m. on March 10th.