Belmont Police Log, Nov. 13-20: Packages stolen, pedestrian struck, possible contractor fraud, Bitcoin scam 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, Nov. 13
6:46 p.m.: An Acorn Park Drive resident reported a stolen package. Three of her Amazon deliveries were taken along with an Amazon hub locker. This occurred between 5 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 10th. The packages contained items totaling $59.99. She was informed Amazon removed the lockers from Royal Belmont. Amazon will refund her for the items she didn’t receive.
7:23 p.m.: An Acorn Park Drive resident reported her Amazon hub locker and packages inside were taken between 5 and 7 p.m. The items in the packages totaled $250. She was informed Amazon removed the locker. She was instructed to file a police report.
Wednesday, Nov. 15
1:38 p.m.: A Trapelo Road resident reported a stolen package. It was taken from her building yesterday. The package contained a pair of boots from Clark’s valued at $70 that were delivered via UPS on Nov. 14th. When she went to retrieve her package today, it was gone.
5:31 p.m.: A Ross Road resident reported fraud. The resident was approached by two contractors, Larry and James, on Nov. 2nd. They provided him with information about updating his residence. They said they worked for Prestige Masonry Construction. They gave him a work order with an estimate. He agreed on the work to be done and wrote two checks on Nov. 8th. One was made out to, “Unikeenstp” for $11,750. The second check for, “Unikeenspt” was for $43,500. They approached him again asking for more money. He wrote two more checks payable to the same name on Nov. 14th. One for $30,000, the other for $39,000. The work order was for a new gutter system, wood siding and a wood support system. They are still doing work on his chimney. He is satisfied with the work but feels he has paid too much money. He provided officers with the license plates. Larry and James come by the residence sometimes, but usually their workers are there. He was advised to call the police if Larry and James show up. He said he will try to stop his checks from being processed. Belmont Police are investigating.
Thursday, Nov. 16
6:19 p.m.: A 2020 Honda operated by a Lexington woman struck a 34-year-old Belmont man in the area of 160 Lexington St. The man struck was alert and conscious, complaining of pain to his back. His hands were cut up and he was bleeding. Belmont Fire and Rescue also responded. The operator of the Honda said she was traveling Northbound on Lexington Street when she came to the crosswalk at the intersection of Lexington and Holt. She said the pedestrian came out of nowhere. The pedestrian said he went into the marked crosswalk because he thought the vehicle was slowing down. He doesn’t remember if he went up onto the hood or if he was knocked over. His glasses and watch were knocked off. He declined further medical attention and was driven home by a family member. The operator of the Honda was issued a citation for crosswalk violation.
Friday, Nov. 17
8:34 a.m.: A Hill Road resident reported 2019 Kia broken into. He believes it was locked. This morning the doors were locked. When he went inside the vehicle this morning, he noticed the registration and miscellaneous pieces of mail were taken. The center console was also ransacked. There were no signs of forced entry.
8:53 a.m.: A Chenery School student reported he lost his flute in the library at the school on Nov. 10th. He checked the lost and found. The company he rents from advised him to file a police report.
5:33 p.m.: A Chester Road resident reported credit card fraud. Her credit card was taken some time in late September. Her credit card company, U.S. Bank Visa, requested she file a police report. The card was last used at CVS in Belmont. She was unaware it was missing until she received a fraud alert on Oct. 1. Several charges, totaling $1,043.80, were made Sept. 30th. The first charge was at Snipe’s in Boston for $291.56. The other was Play Station Network for $265.60 and Greyhound, California for $144.97 and Greyhound kiosk in Boston for $94.97 and CVS Pharmacy in Boston for $60.65 and Freedom News One in New York for $47.39 and $38.36 and $3.24 and Wendy’s in Boston for $27.16. On Oct. 1, a Lyft ride for $69.96.
Saturday, Nov. 18
11:52 a.m.: A young adult Van Ness Road resident reported fraud involving BitCoin. He was contacted by a man on Tik Tok and Whats App about investing in crypto currency using BitCoin. The main claimed to be from Belmont. He believes the man knew his older sister. He purchased BitCoin off of Cash app and then sent it to the scammer who said he would invest it on a website called, Fanstrader.com. When he initially tried to log on to this website, he received a notification the link was forbidden. The scammer sent him another link. However, when officers attempted to find the website, they were unable to locate it and believe it’s a fake website the scammer created. The victim made 13 transactions totaling $9,120, all sent to the scammer’s Cash app wallet. Every time he tried to stop buying more BigCoin, he was pressured by the scammer into purchasing more. He eventually cut all communications with the scammer. The conversations with the scammer back and forth had poor spelling and grammar. It appears the scammer stole the identity of a resident in Belmont who now lives out of state. Officers attempted to contact the resident but have been unable to do so.
Sunday, Nov. 19
2:39 p.m.: A Beech Street resident reported larceny. An item was stolen off of her porch. A friend dropped off two barber shirts in a bag. They were valued at $125 each. Her downstairs neighbor will review the tape on the front doorbell camera and will contact police if anything relevant comes up on the video.
5:53 p.m.: A cabinet fell on a man who lives in senior housing on Thayer Street. He said he was cooking when the cabinet fell and hit him. He had a laceration on his right arm and multiple bruises.
Monday, Nov. 20
12:46 p.m.: A Beech Street resident reported a “We stand with Israel” sign was taken from his lawn. He showed officers a video of the sign being taken from his lawn on Nov. 17th at 10:55 p.m. The video shows two people, possibly teenage girls walking down the street. They observe the sign then walk across the street. One person is wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with gray sweatpants climbs over the chain link fence and removes the sign. The other person was wearing a dark colored shirt and light-colored sweatpants.
Between Nov. 13 and Nov. 19, Belmont Police had one domestic resulting in criminal charges for violation of a restraining order and five mental health calls.
Public Safety warning
Belmont Police remind residents not to trust contractors that just show up at your front door. Legitimate contractors do not solicit business door to door. Also, any company going door to door needs to be registered with the Belmont Police Department.