Wellesley, Mass., police log for March, 2023:

Arrests

On March 5, 2023 at 9:01 a.m. Officer Cunningham was conducting traffic enforcement on Worcester Street near Cedar Street when he observed a Honda minivan traveling at a high rate of speed. He confirmed the speed to be 78 mph in a 50 mph zone. He attempted to stop the vehicle on Worcester Street, however it proceeded onto Route 128 south. The vehicle was initially traveling in the right travel lane at a speed lower than the posted speed limit. The Honda minivan changed lanes into the left travel lane and was traveling at approximately 60 mph. The vehicle eventually stopped on Route 128 near Great Plain Ave in Needham. Officer Cunningham spoke with the operator, who stated he didn’t know he needed to stop. He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later bailed.

On March 17, 2023 at 11:40 p.m. Officer DeBernardi was dispatched to the area of Worcester Street westbound for an erratic operator driving a Honda sedan. Officer DeBernardi located the Honda sedan traveling westbound in the center of Worcester Street straddling both the left and right travel lanes. Officer DeBernardi stopped the Honda on Worcester Street near Lexington Road. He spoke with the operator, and immediately detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person. While speaking with the operator Officer DeBernardi noticed that his speech was slurred and his eyes were severely bloodshot and glassy. He agreed to take some reasonable tests of balance and coordination and was unable to successfully pass these tests. He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later released on personal recognizance.

On March 24, 2023 at 12:54 p.m. Officer Mankavech was observing traffic on Worcester Street and noticed the operator of a Ford sedan was looking down at his cell phone. He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the operator, and requested his license and registration. A query of his information showed there was an active warrant issued by the Dedham District Court for shoplifting. He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later transported to Dedham District Court.

Incidents

On March 1, 2023 at 1:40 p.m. officers were dispatched to the area of Wellesley Avenue and Brookside Avenue for a report of an injured deer. The deer suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of being struck by a vehicle. It was moved to a wooded area on the side of the road and euthanized.

On March 3, 2023 at 6:54 a.m. an officer was dispatched to Worcester Street near Route 128 for a report of a road rage incident where an unknown male party threw what appeared to be a can of soda at the reporting party’s vehicle. The reporting party provided physical description of the operator of the motor vehicle and a vehicle registration number. The registered owner of the vehicle’s physical appearance did not match the description provided by the reporting party. A few days later the reporting party advised the officer that he has observed the same vehicle and driver and there have not been any issues so he does not wish to pursue the matter any further.

On March 3, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party regarding unemployment fraud. The male party stated he received a debit card with funds for unemployment benefits. He stated he had not filed for unemployment and had filed a report with the Department of Unemployment Assistance to notify them of the fraud. There are no suspects at this time.

On March 4, 2023 at 11:16 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party who stated he was assaulted by the operator of a photo booth while he was at an event. The officer contacted the photo booth operator who stated several juveniles were pressing buttons in the photo booth while he was trying to break it down. He denied any physical contact between himself and the youth. The reporting party forwarded a cellular phone video which depicted the photo booth operator shoving the juvenile into a set of doors. He will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Assault and Battery.

On March 7, 2023 at 8:15 a.m. an officer was dispatched to Damien Road for a report of a stolen airbag from a Honda Pilot. The theft occurred between 5:00 p.m. on March 6^th and 9:00 a.m. on March 7^th. There did not appear to be any other damage to the vehicle. On March 7^th there were also reports of air bags thefts from vehicles on River Ride (Honda CRV) and Harris Ave (Honda Civic) and on March 10^th a report of an air bag theft on White Oak Road (Honda CRV). The incident is under investigation.

On March 13, 2023 at 1:08 p.m. an officer was dispatched to a residence on Pinewood Road for a report of leaking water at a vacant residence. As the officer approached he observed water coming down the front exterior of the residence. With the assistance of the Wellesley Fire Department, entry was made into the residence where it was discovered that water was on all of the floors on the first floor and running into the basement. The Wellesley Water Department responded and shut the water off. Contact was made with the homeowner who indicated that the house was going to be renovated. It appeared the heat had been shut off which may have caused a pipe to burst.

On March 14, 2023 at 12:11 p.m. an officer was dispatched to Crest Road for a report of a hit and run accident. The reporting party stated that a pick-up truck struck her vehicle, pulled to the side of the road and then left. The officer was able to view the traffic camera footage in the area and identify the other vehicle involved. The operator of the pickup truck will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident and Failure to Yield to Oncoming Traffic.

On March 24, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. an officer was dispatched to Webb Ave for a report of a contractor that had repaired a driveway and left a pile of broken pavement in the roadway. He spoke to the resident who had driveway work done and learned that it was a paving scam and the contractor did not properly replace the driveway. While speaking with the resident a neighbor came over and stated that the same male party advised her he was doing work for the town and had extra asphalt left over and could repave her driveway for a discounted rate. She agreed to pay $6,200 for the work. There are no suspects.

On March 24, 2023 at 12:50 p.m. an officer spoke to a male reporting party who stated he was in the process of building a house in town and the property has a shared driveway with the neighbor. The reporting party stated when he arrived at the work site he observed the neighbor talking to one of the workers on site and he advised the worker not to speak with the neighbor. The reporting party stated as he walked past the neighbor he was pushed from behind and hit one of the work trucks and spilled his coffee. The neighbor stated as they walked past each other near the vehicle they accidentally bumped into each other at which point the coffee spilled. The neighbor stated he had a photograph that shows the vehicles were parked on his property. The officer viewed the photograph that showed the vehicles were behind the snow fencing, which indicated they were on the reporting party’s property. The male party will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Assault and Battery and Trespassing.

On March 23, 2023 at 8:31 p.m. an officer spoke to a male reporting party who stated a relative had been the victim of an ongoing scam and had lost nearly $500,000. The reporting party stated that as he was helping the victim prepare her taxes for the year he attempted to log into her online financial records and was unable to do so. He contacted her and asked about this and she indicated that there may be an issue. The officer spoke with the female party who stated in January or February 2022 she received either an email or phone call from what she believed was Amazon asking if she had purchased a computer. She advised them she did not and they indicated they would cancel the order. A few days later she received a call from what she thought was the Federal Trade Commission investigating the fraudulent Amazon transaction. She was advised they had captured a male party who had her personal information and they were going to freeze her assets because they felt she was working with him. She was advised not to tell anyone about the investigation or it would compromise it. She was advised to open a bank account and send payments to various individuals all over the country and outside the country. Over a period of a year she was scammed out of approximately $500,000. The incident is under investigation.