Wellesley, Mass., police log for the week of May 18-23. Wellesley has had few arrests over the past couple of months, but this past week, things changed…

Arrests

On May 19, 2020 at 3:00 a.m. Officer Dennehy was on patrol when he observed a vehicle parked in the Longfellow Pond parking lot.  Longfellow Pond is closed from dusk and dawn.  Officer Dennehy observed a male party sleeping in the driver seat of the vehicle.  A query of the registration revealed that the vehicle was a rental car that was reported stolen by the rental car company on May 17^th.   Officer Dennehy spoke with the male party and asked if he had a rental car agreement.  The male party stated he would look for an email with the information but was unable to find one.  The vehicle was reported stolen to the Norwood Police Department.  After speaking with an officer there it was determined the vehicle was stolen from rental car company lot on May 17^th,  an employee at the rental car company witnessed a male party fitting the occupant’s description drive the vehicle away from the rental car lot.  He was taken into custody transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and unable to make bail.  His care and custody were later transferred to the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 19th at 6:01 p.m. Officer DeBernardi was dispatched to the area of Worcester Street at Upwey Road for a report of a single car motor vehicle accident.  Officer DeBernardi observed a vehicle bumper against a stone wall but the vehicle had left the scene.  There was a large fluid spill and fluid trail that Officer DeBernardi was able to follow to the Calvin Street parking lot.  Upon arriving there Officer DeBernardi saw a brown colored SUV with several male parties standing around the vehicle.  The registration number on the rear bumper matched the registration number on the front bumper that was left at the crash scene.  Officer DeBernardi asked the male parties who the vehicle belonged to.  One young man indicated it was his vehicle.  While speaking with him, Officer DeBernardi detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.  He asked the man if he had consumed any alcohol and he indicated he had not.  He agreed to take some reasonable tests of balance and coordination to determine his ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.  He 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 May 20, 2020 at 11:43 a.m. Officer DeBernardi was dispatched with other officers to the area of Worcester Street at Russell Road for a report of two men fighting.  Officers could not locate a vehicle at that intersection but did locate a vehicle at the intersection of Worcester Street and School Street which is a short distance away.  Officers observed that the vehicle’s right front tire was over the curbing on the side of School Street and out of the roadway.  There were two male parties and two female parties in the vehicle that were all arguing.   In speaking to the man operating the vehicle, while speaking with him Officer DeBernardi detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath and he noticed that his speech was slurred.  He agreed to take some reasonable tests of balance and coordination to determine if was able to safely operate a motor vehicle.  He 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 May 21, 2020 at 11:15 p.m. Officer Dixon was on patrol on Worcester Street near Standish Road when he observed a Nissan SUV traveling at a high rate of speed.  The vehicle’s speed continued to escalate to 75 mph in a posted 50 mph zone.  Officer Dixon stopped the vehicle and spoke with the operator, who initially identified himself as a private civilian protected by the fourth amendment but would not provide his driver’s license or the vehicle registration.  There were two other occupants in the motor vehicle that would not identify the driver.  The driver had a large sum of money in his pocket that was in several individual bundles.  A backpack was located in the vehicle that contained a large amount of marijuana that was individually packaged which was later weighed as 9.3 ounces.  There were also pills believed to be ecstasy that were located in with the marijuana.  The male party was taken into custody, transported to the station where he refused to cooperate with the booking process.   A female party called the police station and identified the male party.   A query of his information showed there were two active warrants for his arrest.  The 1^st default warrant was issued by Clinton District Court for motor vehicle related charges.  The 2^nd straight warrant was issued by Framingham District Court for motor vehicle related charges.  He was held without bail and was later transported to the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 23, 2020 at 9:47 p.m. Officer DeBernardi was traveling east on Worcester Street when his attention was drawn to a Toyota pickup that was traveling in front of him and was having difficulty maintaining its lane of travel.  Officer DeBernardi stopped the vehicle and spoke with the operator, he immediately noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage when the driver rolled down the window and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy.  He agreed to take some reasonable tests of balance and coordination to determine if he was able to safely operate a motor vehicle.  He was unable to successfully complete 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.

Incidents

On May 18, 2020 at 12:45 p.m. Officer Pino spoke with a male reporting party who stated that he had received a delivery that he ordered online and when the driver was backing out of his driveway he hit and damaged a granite light post.   The male party provided Officer Pino with pictures of the damage and information on the driver.  He had ordered the items though Insta-Cart and had contacted them, but had not heard back from them.  He was advised to follow up with them with the information he had. 

On May 18, 2020 at 5:29 p.m. Officer Harris spoke with a resident from Upwey Road regarding a false unemployment claim that had been filed using his name.  The reporting party’s employer became aware of the claim and had already notified the Massachusetts Office of Unemployment about the fraudulent claim.  The incident is under investigation.

On May 19, 2020 at 3:38 p.m. Officer Cunningham spoke to a female reporting party who stated she received a Green Dot credit card she did not order.  She contacted the Green Dot company and was advised the card was opened using her personal information.  She had cancelled the card and there were no fraudulent purchases made with the card.

On May 19, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. Officer Mankavech spoke with an employee from the Wellesley Public School Transportation Department who stated that some vans had catalytic convertors cut out and stolen from the vehicles rendering them inoperable.   The theft occurred at some point in the past several weeks.  There are no suspects

On May 21, 2020 at 10:54 a.m. Officer Wall spoke with a female reporting party who stated she noticed her vehicle door was open this morning at 9:00 a.m. and she was certain she had locked it the night before.  She stated nothing was taken from the car, but she was concerned as she lost her primary set of car keys after having the vehicle serviced on May 18^th.  The repair shop had not been able to locate the keys.

On May 21, 2020 at 3:01 p.m. Officer Kane spoke with a female party regarding identity theft where an unknown individual attempted to apply for unemployment benefits using the reporting party’s information.   The reporting party received a letter from the Unemployment Office stating that her claim had been approved and stated the claim had been made on May 17, 2020.   She contacted the unemployment office and was advised they would cancel the claim and advised her to notify her local police department.  There are no suspects at this time.

On May 21, 2020 at 3:03 p.m. Officer Kane spoke with a male reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim made using his personal information.  The reporting party stated he received a Go Bank debit card for an account that he had not opened.  The reporting party called the bank and closed the account.  He called his place of employment to ask if anyone else had something similar occur and was told that someone had filed for unemployment benefits using his information on May 17, 2020.  There are no suspects at this time.

On May 21, 2020 at 3:20 p.m. Officer Wall spoke with a male reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim.  The reporting party stated he received a call from him employer because his employer received a letter from the Department of Unemployment Assistance indicating the reporting party had filed for unemployment.  The report is incomplete at this time and no further information is available.

On May 22, 2020 at 10:45 p.m. Officer DiCenso was dispatched to disturbance complaint of loud music playing.  When she arrived in the area she noticed vehicles parked on the street and loud music coming from a yard.  There was a small group of teenagers playing a yard game and consuming alcoholic beverages.  A parent was contacted and responded to the residence.  All of the individuals present were cooperative with the officers.  They were advised of the consequences for hosting an underage drinking party as well as being minors in possession of alcohol.

On May 23, 2020 at 10:15 a.m. Officer Shore spoke with a male reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim.  The reporting party received a letter on May 19^th stating his claim had been approved.  He was advised to contact the Department of Unemployment Assistance to notify them of the fraudulent claim. 

On May 23, 2020 at 12:02 p.m. Officer Cunningham spoke with a female reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim.   The female party stated she received a letter requesting verification of information related to her deceased husband and suspected a claim had been filed using his personal information.  Officer Cunningham forwarded the information to an investigator from the Department of Unemployment.

On May 23, 2020 at 12:58 p.m. Officer J. Popovski spoke with a female reporting party who stated both she and her husband received letters from the Department of Unemployment Assistance in regards to their claims.  She stated that neither had filed for unemployment benefits.  Both claims were made on May 18^th and the letters were issued on May 19^th.  The information will be forwarded to an investigator from the Department of Unemployment for further investigation.

There are 6 or 7 other false unemployment claims that have been reported this week. 

Fraudulent claims have become a nationwide issue.

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance this week issued a press release regarding the scam.

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More: Wellesley, MA Police logs