Wellesley, Mass., police log for the week of Feb. 15-21:

Arrests

On Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 10:17 a.m. Officer Mankavech was conducting traffic enforcement on Worcester Street when he observed a vehicle with a piece from the undercarriage hanging off the bottom of the vehicle nearly striking the pavement. He stopped the vehicle and noticed that none of the passengers had seat belts on. The front seat passenger was identified, and a query of his information indicated there was an active warrant for his arrest issued by West Roxbury District Court for Possession of a Class B Drug, Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle and a default warrant issued by West Roxbury District Court for Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident with Property Damage. He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and transported to Dedham District Court.

Incidents

On February 15, 2021 at 10:50 a.m. Officer Mankavech spoke with a male reporting party regarding an unemployment scam. He stated that a third party vendor utilized by his employer was hacked in December and his personal information was posted on the internet. He stated he recently received a letter from the Kentucky Unemployment Assistance program stating that he qualified for unemployment benefits. He was advised to contact the credit reporting bureaus and request a freeze be put on his credit and monitor his accounts for any suspicious activity.

On February 15, 2021 at 4:58 p.m. Officer Scopa was dispatched to a business on Worcester Street for a report of a possible stolen motor vehicle. Sirius XM had informed the Emergency Communications Center that they received a notification that the stolen vehicle was located at this address. Officer Scopa queried the vehicle’s registration and it indicated it had been reported stolen in Natick on Monday, February 15^th at 9:07 a.m. Officer Scopa spoke with an employee at the business and learned that the vehicle was there when he arrived to work at 4:00 p.m. and he assumed it was left there to be repaired. The owner of the vehicle was contacted and when she arrived to retrieve the vehicle she stated there were items in the vehicle that did not belong to her. Those items were removed from the vehicle and returned to the police department. The case has been referred to the Natick Police Department for further investigation.

On February 17, 2021 at 3:35 p.m. Officer Shore was dispatched to a residence for a dispute between a landlord and tenant. The landlord stated she was in the process of preparing the house for sale and had notified the tenant that she would not be renewing the lease and has been having difficulties with the tenant since that time. She stated she had made arrangements to access the residence though the tenant’s attorney. The tenant stated there had been an issue with a sewer backup in the basement of the residence, she contacted a company to clean the basement and the landlord was upset by this and served her with a notice to vacate the property. She stated that the agreed upon time for the landlord to come to the residence was earlier in the day. They were both advised to communicate in writing through the attorney so no further mix-ups would occur.

On February 17, 2021 at 12:34 p.m. Officer Mankavech was conducting traffic enforcement on Washington Street when he observed a Ford Fusion without a registration plate. He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the male operator who provided paperwork for the vehicle which he stated he recently purchased. The operator had a photocopy of a Connecticut temporary registration which when queried was found to be fraudulent. There was no record of the vehicle being registered in Massachusetts or Connecticut. The male party will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Forgery of a Motor Vehicle Document, Attaching Registration Plates and Unregistered Motor Vehicle.

On February 16, 2021 at 3:54 p.m. Animal Control Officer Smith was dispatched to a residence with Officer Misho for a report of a bat inside the home. The reporting parties indicated nobody in the home had been exposed to the bat. ACO Smith captured the bat and released it outside.

On February 18, 2021 at 6:18 a.m. Officer Dennehy was dispatched to a medical call for a female party that had tripped over a defect in the pavement on the roadway. The female party fell face first onto the pavement and cut her face and was transported to the hospital for evaluation. Officer Dennehy contacted the Town of Wellesley Engineering Division and was able to find out what contractor had last done work on the roadway. The Engineering Department will make contact with the contractor to make repairs to the roadway.

On February 18, 2021 at 2:15 p.m. Officer Shore was dispatched to the area of Washington Street in the Hills for a report of a male party yelling at a female party because of a political bumper sticker on her vehicle. She stated the man then placed two stickers that stated “Abolish the Republican Party.” The reporting party stated she took out her phone to take a photograph of the male party who then left the area. Officer Shore checked the area for a male party in a tan colored winter jacket and knit winter cap but was unable to locate him in the area.

On February 19, 2021 at 1:45 a.m. Officer Gerard was on patrol in the area of Heckle Street when he noticed sets of fresh footprints that led into driveways with parked cars. The footprints led to parked vehicles and then back to the roadway. He observed these footprints on Bancroft Road, Elm Street, Washington Street, Heckle Street, Oakland Street, Woodlawn Ave, Worcester Street on the Corner of Oakland Street, Washburn Ave, Carver Road, Winslow Road, Standish Road, Jackson Road and Jefferson Road. It did not appear that any of the vehicles had been entered or disturbed.

On February 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Officer Cunningham was traveling on Worcester Street when he observed a vehicle that was covered with snow that was sliding from side to side as it was traveling forward. He queried the registration which showed that hit was registered to a Honda sedan but it was on a Dodge sedan. He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the male operator and requested his license and registration. A query of his information showed that his license was expired and a query of the vehicle identification number showed the vehicle was not properly registered. He will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Attaching License Plates, Operating a Motor Vehicle without Insurance and Unregistered Motor Vehicle.

On February 19, 2021 at 11:32 a.m. Officer Hughes spoke with a male reporting party regarding a stolen snow blower. The report is incomplete at this time.

On February 20, 2021 at 5:53 p.m. Officer Wagner was dispatched to a business on Central Street for a report of a female party that was in the store causing a disturbance. The female party had left the area prior to Officer Wagner’s arrival. They were advised to contact us if the individual returned to the store.

On February 20, 2021 at 9:19 p.m. Officers Wagner and DiCenso responded to a residence to speak with a mother about a child that was upset. The child interacted with the department’s service dog Winnie and calmed down. Officer DiCenso gave the child some advice on how to calm down if they got upset about something in the future.

On February 21, 2021 at 7:03 a.m. Officer Wagner was dispatched to a residence on Brookfield Road for a report of two stolen motor vehicles. Both vehicles were unlocked in the driveway and the key fob for the vehicle was in one of the vehicles. One of the stolen vehicles was located a short distance away. The 2^nd vehicle a 2020 Porsche Macan was entered into the system as stolen. The incident is under investigation.

On February 21, 2021 at 2:20 p.m. Officer Hughes spoke with a female reporting party regarding purchases fraudulently with her credit card. The report is incomplete at this time and no further information is available.

Additional information on the car thefts and break-ins in the Brookfield and Pilgrim Road area on Sunday, February 21. Approximately 20 vehicles were entered and in some cases, valuables or money were removed. All of the vehicles were unlocked. The burglaries happened in the Westgate and Pilgrim Road neighborhoods, as well as Pleasant Street.

Two vehicles were stolen as well. One stolen vehicle was located by Wellesley Officers nearby. The second vehicle was located a day later by the West Hartford Police Department in Connecticut. Both of the stolen vehicles were unlocked and had the keys in them at the time of the theft.

Several neighbors have been extremely helpful in providing home security video to the department during the investigation. We are asking anyone with home security video to review Sunday morning, February 21,2021 from 3:30 AM to 5:00 AM for anything suspicious. This request is centered around the Pilgrim Road, Westgate Road neighborhoods, especially on the side streets closer to Weston Road. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Chris Connelly at 781-235-1212 or CConnelly@wellesleyma.gov.

We also ask that you lock your car doors at night, as well as remove your keys from the car. This will absolutely prevent these types of thefts.