Belmont Police Log, June 24 to June 30: Overnight car break-ins, tree limb falls on car on Douglas Road, box truck takes down light post and street sign 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, June 24
3:51 p.m.: An Oliver Road resident reported 2018 Mercedes broken into. At approximately 7 a.m. her son saw the driver’s side door ajar and glove box open. A cup of loose change containing approximately $3 of coin was missing and later discovered empty in neighbor’s lawn. The car was parked in the driveway at 9 p.m. the night before and left unlocked.
5:06 p.m.: A Cross Street resident reported four vehicles broken into, a 2022 Jeep, a 2022 Toyota, a 2010 Honda and a 2009 Jeep. Someone went through the two Jeeps overnight. They were unlocked in the driveway. Items missing include $15 cash, sunglasses valued at $25 and a pair of Coach earrings valued at $80 from the 2022 Jeep. Nothing was missing from the other vehicles. All the vehicles were left unlocked.
6:03 p.m.: Collision in area of Belmont Street and Winsor Avenue with injuries between a 2019 Mini operated by a Cambridge man and a 2021 Mazda operated by a Cambridge woman. The operator of the Mini had head pain. The operator of the Mazda was turning left onto Winsor Avenue when she was struck. She did not see the other motor vehicle and believes she had a green light. The Mazda and Mini had heavy damage and were towed from the scene. The operator of the Mazda was issued a citation for failure to yield at an intersection.
Tuesday, June 25
8:37 a.m.: Collision in area of Common Street and Royal Road between a 2011 Ford operated by a Duxbury man and a 2011 Acura operated by a Saugus woman. The Acura crashed into the Ford. The operator of the Acura was stopped at a stop sign and proceeded to turn when she crashed into the Ford. She said she did not see it coming. Her airbag deployed. The accident was caught on video, showing the Acura crash into the Ford. The operator of the Acura was issued a citation for failure to stop.
9:55 a.m.: Moraine Auto Repair reported suspicious activity in his parking lot. There was a note left on one of the vehicles, threatening to have it towed. The owner of the vehicle rents the parking spot from the landlord who owns the building. There have been ongoing issues with residents of a Moraine Street apartment and parking concerns. Many vehicles have been damaged or scratched over parking. Officers advised the Moraine Street resident suspected of writing the note to contact the landlord if he has issues with the parking spaces people are paying for.
6:17 p.m.: A Hay Road resident reported identity fraud. On June 21, she received a letter in the mail that a loan was taken out in her name. It was from the U.S. Small Business Administration. It stated the loan was for $20,833 and was due Nov. 1, 2022.
6:32 p.m.: A School Street resident reported fraud. On April 24 at 2:48 p.m., he received an email from StubHub thanking him for his order. Someone purchased four tickets to game 2 of the Celtics first round play-off games. The cost including fees was $2,137.82. When the order was placed, he was on a work call and began to receive hundreds of spam emails after the call, which he believes was an attempt to hide the fraudulent activity. He believes his email was hacked and informed Chase he did not purchase the tickets. He asked Chase to update the email on his account to help protect it. He also reported the transaction to StubHub who advised him the matter would be investigated. On April 28 StubHub informed him all sales were final. He showed officers proof he was not at the game. He believes his card information was stolen during a recent trip and advised friends what happened. Friends have also said they have been receiving spam calls. Chase notified him of the results of their investigation but did not believe the charges were fraudulent because the purchaser confirmed his email address, name and credit card information. He called to appeal the decision, but was told because he lives in Massachusetts it appears he made the charges. He believes Chase’s evidence is insufficient and he will report the matter to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and consumer protection bureaus.
Wednesday, June 26
9:58 a.m.: Officers came upon a motor vehicle stolen from Woburn. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but it sped off, went through a red light at a high rate of speed in the area of Concord Avenue and Goden Street. Officers terminated the pursuit and informed other towns about the vehicle. It was last seen travelling on Pleasant Street into Arlington, occupied by two males wearing masks over their faces.
1:52 p.m. The Belmont Hill Club reported fraud. The president of the club informed officers an account was set up on the club’s name, fraudulently. He did not set up the account. They will be contacting the club’s bank to report this matter and currently are not out any funds.
2:12 p.m.: A Goden Street resident reported larceny. Her electric scooter was stolen. It was last seen on June 23 at 8 p.m. She noticed it was missing at 8 a.m. on June 25. It is a black Segway Ninebot with yellow and gray details, valued at approximately $600.
9:27 p.m.: Collision in area of Lexington Street and Trapelo Road between a 2002 Toyota operated by a Waltham woman and a 2018 Toyota operated by a Burlington woman. The operator of the 2018 complained of head and neck pain. The operator of the 2002 Toyota said she was struck as she exited the Star Market parking lot. Both vehicles had significant damage and were towed from the scene. The operator of the 2018 Toyota was transported to Mount Auburn Hospital. There were two witnesses to the accident. One witness said she observed the 2018 Toyota go through a red light and the 2002 Toyota had the green light. Another witness said the 2002 Toyota went through the red light striking the 2018 Toyota that had the green light.
Thursday, June 27
8:21 a.m.: A large tree limb fell onto a 2015 Volvo parked in driveway of a home on Douglas Road. Power lines were also pulled down. Asplundh Tree was called to remove the limb. The power to the house was shut down by Belmont Light. The limb also damaged the roof of the home.
11:56 a.m.: An employee of Coldwell Banker Real Estate said a client recently purchased a home on Cowdin Road. The recycling bin was missing.
Friday, June 28
12:15 p.m.: A Trapelo Road resident reported missing property. Officers spoke to the daughter of the resident who said she believes several pieces of her mother’s jewelry are missing and may have been stolen from her apartment. Her mother told her on June 1 that all her jewelry kept inside her jewelry box was missing. She and her husband searched the apartment for the jewelry but could not find it. She notified housing of the incident. She is unsure if anyone else has been in the apartment. The items missing are a gold wedding ring, six gold rings with diamonds, a thick solid gold necklace and a pair of gold earrings. She is unsure of the value of the jewelry.
2:58 p.m.: Officers brought charges against a Belmont man for assault and battery.
9:33 p.m.: A Washington Street resident reported fraud. Someone obtained her social security number. She received a call from Xfinity from a number she saved in her phone from a technician who installed equipment in her house a few years ago. He said her firewall was breeched and her Xfinity account was compromised. He said her IP address was made public in Nigeria and people were running illegal activities through the IP address. The technician then transferred her to a man named Jonathan Price and gave her a number, 267-719-7657, to call back if they were disconnected. Price informed her he would report the illegal activities to the Federal Trade Commission as a step to getting her account back. She asked Price to verify his identity through the Xfinity app. He then sent a request through the app to verify he was with Comcast. He told her not to give him the code. She received the notification from the usual number she received Comcast notifications from and believed Price was who he said. He read her her social security number and instructed her to merge all her bank accounts together for the FTC. She became skeptical but said she would go to the bank. He told her not to tell the bank tellers she was on the phone with him. She informed the bank of the situation. They allowed her to contact Xfinity on their landline. When she got through to a live person, they could not confirm Price was with Comcast. She placed a temporary freeze on her bank accounts and credit. She did not give Price any of her account information but was concerned he had her social security number. She ignored Price’s calls the rest of the day as well as calls from other unfamiliar phone numbers.
1:36 p.m.: Officers spoke to a Clifton Street resident concerning suspicious activity. There was a broken window on the rear door of her house next to the doorknob. She showed officers the door. It had multiple windowpanes. It did not appear access was gained to the home and the door was not compromised as a result of the broken pane of glass.
Saturday, June 29
3:56 p.m.: A Plymouth Avenue resident reported fraud. She received four letters from different banking institutions regarding credit cards attempting to be open in her name from Citibank, US Bank, America Bank. They all said she was denied accounts. One letter from Greendot said an account was successfully opened for Walmart with the card included. She reported the fraud to all the institutions and with the FTC. She checked her recent credit report and noticed several other inquiries from various banking institutions and was instructed to contact those banking institutions.
Sunday, June 30
1:52 p.m.: Collision in area of Common Street and Payson Road between a 2003 work truck operated by a Belmont man and a street light. Upon arrival officers observed the work truck on the sidewalk on the Payson Road side of Common Street with the light post underneath the truck with the Payson Road sign. Belmont Light responded. The driver said he lost control of the truck causing him to strike the light post. He tried to apply the brakes but the truck would not stop. The vehicle was towed from the scene. The brakes were not functioning. Brake fluid was leaking. The driver was issued a citation for unregistered motor vehicle.
Between June 24 and June 30, officers responded to four mental health calls and one domestic violence call.