Belmont Police Log, July 1-7: Car stolen on Radcliffe Road, hit and run involving bicyclist on Mill Street, pedestrian struck on Pond Street

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 1

9:57 a.m.: Marsh Street resident reported missing property. He took an Uber the night before from 11:10 p.m. to 11:50 p.m. from Logan Airport to his home. When he got home, he realized he left his black backpack and two silver laptops in the back of the Uber. He attempted to contact Uber to find the driver but was unsuccessful. Officers attempted to assist him in finding a phone number for the Uber driver but were unsuccessful. One laptop was an HP valued at $700 and the other was a MacBook Pro valued at $1,800. He is waiting for Uber to get back to him.

2:23 p.m.: An Oliver Road resident reported identity theft. While reviewing his financial records, on June 22, he noticed a hard inquiry from Bank of America. On June 28, he received a Walmart money card in the mail that he did not order. He reached out to all three major credit card companies and froze his credit for the time being. He will also inform Citizens Bank about the incident.

Tuesday, July 2

12:47 p.m.: A Radcliffe Road resident reported fraud. An unknown person may have attempted to apply for two credit cards in her name. The day before, on July 1, she received two separate letters in the mail from Bank of America and U.S. Bank explaining she was denied her attempt for credit cards from those banks. The day before she applied and was approved for a Disney credit card for her daughter and is wondering if the incident is connected. She contacted both banks who informed her there were attempts to get credit cards in her name by someone else using her social security number. Bank of America assured her they will cancel the application and confirm it as fraud so it doesn’t affect her credit report. U.S. Bank told her there was nothing they could do about it and she would need to dispute it as a fraud claim with the credit bureau. She was advised to check all her financial accounts and if she learned of more potential fraud to contact the Belmont Police.

12:50 p.m.: A White Street resident reported bank fraud. On June 26, he turned on his computer and received a pop-up notification from a 1-800 number saying he needed to call immediately because he was a victim of fraud. He called the number and spoke to an unknown person on four separate occasions. During one of the conversations, he gave the person access to his computer and his bank information that was on the computer. During this time, he received a call from the Capital One fraud department asking if he made a withdrawal of $29,200. He said he did not, which is when he realized he was talking to a scammer. He is now working with Capital One. They froze his account and advised him to file a report with the Attorney General’s office and the local police department.

1:19 p.m.: A Harding Avenue resident reported fraud. On July 1 she received an email from someone she believes was from Norton Lifelock. The email said her services were renewed for the next two years and the cost was $451.35. She thought the renewal was strange because that is not how she is usually charged. She called 754-778-9481, the number on the email and spoke to two customer service representatives, Robbie Wilson and Mark Williams. They convinced her to send them $10,000, $9,000 by Bitcoin and $1,000 by Stop and Shop gift cards. She realized it was a scam and contacted Norton Lifelock directly who confirmed it was a scam. She did not give the scammers any bank information, but she did give them her social security number. She froze her bank accounts and opened new ones. She notified the three credit bureaus and will contact the social security office.

11:58 p.m.: Criminal complaint against a Belmont man with threats to commit a crime.

Thursday, July 4

8:07 a.m.: A Radcliffe Road resident reported a stolen 2017 Kia. One of his neighbors who resides on Lois Lane was having work done on his home and asked if he could park his car in his driveway while he was away on vacation. The vehicle has been parked in his driveway since June 27 and has not been used. At approximately 6:30 a.m., the vehicle was stolen. It was locked and he had the keys. He notified his neighbor of the incident prior to the officer’s arrival. The resident showed officers a video of the incident. Officers observed that at approximately 6:05 a.m., an individual dressed in all black with a hood and a mask walked down the driveway by the driver’s side of the Kia. He looked inside the vehicle and then walked around the entire vehicle and back down the driveway out of site. Then, moments later, the individual pulled at the driver’s side door handle. Then, walked away. A few minutes later, the individual goes to the passenger side of the vehicle and moments later at 6:23 a.m., the vehicle was backing out of the driveway. An abandoned Hyundai Elantra was found four houses away with its lights on. The window was smashed and the ignition was popped. Belmont Police had the vehicle towed. Attempts were made to contact the vehicle owner but were unsuccessful. It was traced to a Jamaica Plain resident. Officers were able to contact other Radcliffe Road residents who provided video of the Kia being driven away at a high speed. It was entered into CJIS. The owner of the Hyundai later reported the vehicle stolen with the Boston Police and was informed it was located.

Friday, July 5

8:02 a.m.: A three-car collision in the area of Clifton and Pleasant Streets between a 2018 Subaru operated by an Arlington woman, a 2009 GMC operated by a Waltham man and a 2010 Honda operated by an Arlington man. There were no injuries. The operator of the Subaru said she had the green light when a truck cut in front of her traveling down Pleasant Street and she was not able to stop in time. She struck the truck, and the force of the collision spun her vehicle causing heavy front-end damage. The operator of the GMC was traveling on Pleasant Street and said he could not see the traffic lights. The front left tire was flattened and there was heavy front-end damage. The operator of the Honda was travelling towards Clifton when he struck the front left side of the GMC that went through the red light. The Subaru and GMC were towed from the scene. The Honda had moderate damage. There were no citations.

Sunday, July 7

12:52 p.m.: A 2015 Jeep operated by a Belmont woman struck a Cambridge woman in the area of Pond and Brighton Streets. The 28-year-old woman said she was attempting to cross Pond Street using the crosswalk when the Jeep drove over her right food. She was transported to Mount Auburn Hospital by Belmont Fire and Rescue. The operator of the Jeep said she did not see the pedestrian in the crosswalk until she was driving by her and did not know she drove over her foot. She was issued a citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

3:33 p.m.: A 57-year-old Cambridge male bicyclist was struck by a white van on Mill Street that took off from the scene. The bicyclist was shaken up and had road rash on his back. Belmont Fire and Rescue also responded. He was riding his bicycle on Trapelo Road. He had a green light when the white van crossed his path. He crashed into the passenger side of the van and went over the hood. The vehicle didn’t stop and continued up Mill Street. A witness who was at the red light on Mill Street witnessed the white van turn left from Trapelo Road onto Mill Street and the man on the bicycle did not have time to stop. He went over the hood and landed on his feet before falling over. The bicyclist was evaluated and declined transportation to the hospital. His bicycle was damaged in the front. The handlebars were bent and the tire was crooked. Officers were unable to locate the white van.

Between July 1 and July 7, Belmont Police responded to five mental health calls and three domestic calls.  This included one criminal complaint for violating a restraining order, and one arrest for domestic assault and battery assault and battery on a pregnant woman.