Belmont Police log, March 21-April 3: Two arrests, "Help" written in dirt at Rock Meadow, man dancing in 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. 

Friday, March 21

2:55 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported receiving an email he thought was from Webroot, his anti-virus company. He clicked the link and was transferred to Lincodigital. While speaking with a representative on the phone, $60,000 was moved from his home equity account and transferred to his checking account. He believes his screen was taken over after he clicked the link. The person on the phone said the money was deposited into his checking account by mistake and they need it back immediately in cash form. He was asked to deposit the money through a Western Union Bank. He declined because he suspected something was wrong and ended the conversation.  He reported the incident to Watertown Savings’ fraud department and was advised to contact Experian, Transunion and Equifax to report the fraud.

4:22 p.m.: A Belmont High student reported her AirPods missing from her backpack after track practice. She noticed the zipper was open but was unsure if she left it open or not. She used the FindMy app and tracked the AirPods to the area of 3 Merrill Ave. She went to the area and noticed they reconnected to her phone via Bluetooth but was unable to locate the AirPods. Officers attempted to locate them and spoke to residents at six addresses on Merrill Avenue and two on Colby Street. They also looked on the street and sidewalks and were unable to locate the AirPods.

6:23 p.m.: A School Street resident reported two packages delivered on March 20 were stolen. A neighbor found them on Orchard Circle and dropped them off at his home. They were open and items were missing. One package contained energy supplements and the other contained sodium supplements. The total value of both items was $40. Security camera footage revealed two individuals approaching on scooter. One walked up to the front door and took the packages from the steps. The second male remained on the scooter in the street. The individual who took the package had a fair skin complexion and was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt with the hood on, a black face covering, grey sweatpants, black and white sneakers and a red lanyard hanging out of his pocket. The individual on the scooter was also wearing a black face covering, light blue hood under a black jacket, grey sweatpants, dark colored shoes and a black backpack. Videos have been downloaded, logged into evidence and stored in the evidence locker.

Tuesday, March 25

A Lexington resident reported the word, “Help,” written on the dirt at Rock Meadow. There were no other signs of distress in the area.

Wednesday, March 26

8:33 a.m.: A Belmont resident reported identity fraud. On Feb. 1, he switched health care plans from United Healthcare to Harvard Pilgrim. He discovered on Feb. 23, his Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare account was used for an ER visit with Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport. Harvard Pilgrim claimed only one card was issued for that account. That same person used his Delta Dental account to have dental work done at Mann Dental Group in Ipswich. The same person also bounced a check for the remaining balance for the dental work. He also registered to vote in Ipswich using his social security number.

Thursday, March 27

7:17 p.m.: An employee of Belmont Manor Nursing Home reported her vehicle was damaged while parked in the parking lot She arrived to work at 7 a.m. and when she returned to her car, the right rear was damaged. There were no visible cameras that could have captured this incident.

8:16 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported her Discover credit card and license were missing. She last had them at CVS in Belmont Center. She noticed they were missing when she arrived home. She was advised to reach out to the credit card company and report the card missing and also to notify the police if she discovers any charges on her account.

Friday, March 28

3:45 p.m.: A Belmont resident clicked on a link for Massport to check on a flight. A message then popped up from Microsoft warning him his computer had been hacked. He called the phone number provided and talked with a male who somehow gained remote access to his computer. He was showing him sites that had hacked into his computer. One was a pornography site he never visited. He then asked questions about his credit card information and said he could inform people about the hack if he gave him their numbers. He then realized it was a scam, hung up and disconnected his Wi-Fi. He contacted his banks and credit card companies to make them aware of the scam. He was advised to take his computer to be diagnosed before turning it back on.

10 p.m.: An Arlington resident reported someone struck her car with an item fired from a slingshot. She saw three youths who may have been involved in the incident. The three youths were located near the Chenery School. One of the was holding a plastic gun containing small gel balls that explode on impact. He admitted firing the gun at the woman’s car and apologized. His mother was contacted. The other two youths could not be located. There was no damage to the woman’s vehicle.

Saturday, March 29

12 Noon: A Belmont resident reported vandalism to his vehicle parked in his driveway. There was a long scrape on the back right side of the car as well as carved lettering that spelled, “Chin.” The tire cap to the back right tire was on the ground and a rock was left at the scene with black paint on it. The resident believes the vandalism may have been racially motivated and specific to him because he lives next to multiple Asian families and none of their vehicles were vandalized. He suspects his ex-wife may be behind the vandalism They are in the middle of a contentious divorce. Officers attempted to contact a neighbor with a doorbell camera but were unsuccessful. The camera footage was reviewed and did not capture any evidence.

Sunday, March 30

5:11 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported a Verizon account was created in her name. She received a bill in the mail for $831.07. She spoke to Verizon, and they confirmed she was not responsible for its creation. She was advised to monitor all her accounts, contact Social Security and credit bureaus.

Monday, March 31

8:17 a.m.: Collision at intersection of Trapelo Road and Mill Street between a 2016 Toyota operated by a Belmont woman and a 2008 GMC operated by a Watertown woman. The Watertown woman was issued a citation for unsafe operation of a motor vehicle due to the current flow of traffic, weather conditions, inability to safely come to a stop.

2:40 p.m.: The mother of a Chenery Upper Elementary student reported her son’s flute missing. Teachers helped him look for it, but they were not able to locate it.

8:11 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported her 14K white gold diamond stud earrings were missing on Dec. 2, 2024. She last wore them on Dec. 1. She checked all over her house and asked the house cleaners. They have not been found. She reported the loss to her insurance company who said she needed to file a police report to file a claim. The earrings were appraised for $8,800.

9:44 p.m.: A Springfield resident said she pepper-sprayed another female in self defense. She was walking her mother’s dog down the street from her mother’s apartment on Thayer Road when she encountered a female she recognized from a past altercation. She was sitting in her car with the window down. She confronted the woman, a Belmont resident. The woman began calling her racial slurs then exited her vehicle and began to aggressively approach her. She sprayed a warning burst of pepper spray but did not direct it at her. Even after the warning spray, the Belmont woman moved toward her and eventually pushed her to the ground. Out of fear, she sprayed the woman directly in the eyes. Belmont Fire and Rescue also responded to evaluate the victim who signed a refusal form. The Springfield woman was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Tuesday, April 1

3:44 p.m.: Three-car collision at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Winter Street between a 2019 Chevrolet operated by a Newburyport man, a 2019 Ford operated by a Lynn man and a 2023 Audi operated by a Belmont woman. The Newburyport man was issued a citation for following too closely. His vehicle was towed.

Wednesday, April 2

11:30 a.m.: A man was dancing in the middle of Trapelo Road by Waverley Street. A Belmont Police officer asked him to get out of the road. He agreed and went on the sidewalk. He then walked into Tatte which has a No Trespass order against him. A Belmont Police officer removed him from Tatte without incident. A criminal complaint is being sought against him for trespassing.

11:46 a.m.: A Belmont woman reported check fraud. She mailed two checks at the post office on Concord Avenue and was notified by M & T that one check was cashed, and one was attempted to be cashed. She did not know the names of the people on the checks and did not write the amounts on the checks. One was written out to Delani Ferreira for $2,800. The other was made out to James Jamison for $3,300. The M & T Bank in Needham denied the request to cash one of the checks and gave it back to the unidentified person who then left the bank. She has been reimbursed the $2,800 withdrawn from her account fraudulently.

1:02 p.m.: A Belmont woman received a call from a Target representative informing her someone attempted to fill out an application for a credit card using her name, date of birth and social security number. The person was refused. She notified her bank and Experian and social security about the fraudulent activity.

4:26 p.m.: CVS on Leonard Street reported trespassing. The manager said an unidentified white female came into the store to return an item. He could not honor the return because she could not provide a receipt. She became upset and verbally aggressive with him and took out her phone to record. He was uncomfortable and would like the woman to be trespassed from CVS. He was advised the procedure to trespass an individual from a private business and because he is unable to identify her it may be challenging to proceed. He was encouraged to contact the police if she returns. He said he would attempt to retrieve data from the store’s computer system as her ID was scanned as part of the return process. He would also try to get camera footage.

4:49 p.m.: An employee of McLean hospital said her parked car was damaged on the front driver’s side fender. McLean security will be reviewing camera footage and notify Belmont Police if they are able to identify the offending vehicle.

6:36 p.m.: Collision at the intersection of Grove Street and Unity Avenue between a 2007 Toyota operated by a Watertown woman and a 2023 Honda operated by an Atlanta man. The operator of the Toyota was issued a citation for improper turn.

Thursday, April 3

8:40 am.: A Belmont woman said someone stole the right front fog light off of her motor vehicle. The whole casing and bulb were taken out. Her vehicle was parked in the area of Weber Road.

8:57 a.m.: Threats and possible assault on Bradley Road. A female said a man was preventing her from leaving and brandishing a knife. He also broke her vehicle window and said to her multiple times, “game on,” after showing her the knife. Officers located the man but were unable to locate the knife. Officers spoke to three female occupants of a vehicle that was being blocked by the man’s car. Officers searched his vehicle and located a black colored folding knife, which was placed into evidence. He said he was protecting his friend who owed $400 to one of the female occupants of the vehicle he was blocking. One of the women in the other vehicle said she was there to exchange an apartment key for unspecified amount of money and to collect her personal property being stored in the basement. The man was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

Belmont Police responded to six domestic and seven mental health calls March 21 to April 4.