Wellesley MA police log for the week of Sept. 13-19:

Arrests

On September 13, 2021 at 1:32 a.m. Officer Dennehy was dispatched to the area of Worcester Street near the Longfellow pumping station for a report a driver that had been driving his vehicle east in the westbound lane and had been stopped by the State Police.  Officer Dennehy spoke with the State Trooper who had stopped the vehicle.  The trooper stated the male operator had told him he was drunk.  Officer Dennehy then spoke with the driver and detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.  He asked the driver if he would be willing to take some reasonable tests of balance and coordination to determine if he was able to safely operate a motor vehicle.  He told Officer Dennehy he was drunk and declined the tests.  When he exited his vehicle he was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot.  He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later released on personal recognizance.

On September 15, 2021 at 6:08 p.m. Officer Harris was on patrol on Worcester Street when he received an alert from an automatic license plate reader that a van that was traveling on Worcester Street was stolen.  Officer Harris stopped the Ford Van and made contact with the operator,  who stated he had rented the van and had called to extend the rental agreement.  A query of the vehicle’s registration showed that the van was reported stolen and a query of his personal information showed his license had expired.  He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later released on $200 bail.

Incidents

On September 13, 2021 at 8:10 a.m. an officer spoke with a female party who stated she had lost her US passport as well as her daughters’ passports.  She stated she had recently traveled and used the passports on August 30^th and on September 7^th she could not locate the passports.  She will request replacement passports.

On September 14, 2021 at 2021 at 1:20 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party who works at a business on Washington Street.  He stated the business received a suspicious envelope in the mail that contained only a dime in it and was mailed from Ohio.  He stated other locations had received the same envelope with a dime originating from Ohio.  The business did not have any accounts associated with the sender’s name.  The reporting party was advised to contact the police department if any additional suspicious letters were received.

On September 17, 2021 at 8:25 a.m. officers were dispatched to the Wellesley Farms Train Station for a report of an unruly male passenger on the train.  The male party was removed from the train by the conductors.  The male party was transported to Framingham.

On September 17, 2021 at 6:53 p.m. an officer spoke to a male reporting party who stated he began receiving notifications about purchases being made with his credit card in Somerville at 5:57 p.m.  He stated he contacted his credit card company and told them the charges were not his and they opened an investigation.  He stated he had returned an item to a store in Somerville the previous day and may have inadvertently left his credit card in the store.  Officer Fritts is investigating.

On September 17, 2021 at 8:50 p.m. officers were dispatched to Hawthorne Road to assist the fire department with a vehicle fire in a driveway.  Officers observed that the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames and was extinguished by the Wellesley Fire Department.  The vehicle owner stated he had returned home at 8:10 p.m. and had recently had the oil changed in the vehicle.  He was advised to contact his insurance company regarding the damage to the vehicle as a result of the fire. More on the fire.

On September 19, 2021 at 2:39 p.m. an officer spoke to a female reporting party who stated her wallet was stolen the previous day while she was at work at a business on Washington Street.  She stated the security camera in the business had been reviewed but didn’t show anything that would indicate who may have taken the wallet.  She had a credit and debit card in the wallet and had contacted the financial institution to report them stolen.  She stated there had not been any fraudulent charges when she reported them stolen.  There are no suspects at this time.

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Wellesley MA police log for the week of Sept. 6-12:

Arrests

On September 9, 2021 at 9:05 p.m. Officer Misho was dispatched to a business on Washington Street for a suspicious male party.  The male party had been hired by a 3^rd party company to work an event at the business.  The male party was found asleep in a closet in the building and left the building at approximately 9:05 p.m.   The male party damaged the front doors of the building by prying them open.   The male party was located outside the property and was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later released on personal recognizance.

Incidents

On September 6, 2021 at 8:52 p.m. Officer Scopa spoke with a female reporting party who stated on September 5^th a truck drove over plants on her property and damaged them.  She stated she believed the truck at made a delivery at a business next door.  Officer Scopa contacted the store and they will review their delivery orders to try to determine what truck may have caused the damage.

On September 6, 2021 at 5:19 p.m. Officer Dennehy was dispatched to the police station for a report of attempted fraud.  The reporting party stated she noticed that a book she purchased was downloaded to her phone rather than her tablet, she googled the number for Amazon support and called a number that came up in the search.  The individual that answered the phone advised her that her account had been hacked and if she added him and another individual to her contact list on her phone they could assist her.  A short time later she received 2 notifications from her bank for attempts to withdraw funds.  The transactions were denied.  Officer Dennehy advised her to file a fraud report with the bank.

On September 7, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. Officer Mankavech spoke with a male reporting party regarding a stolen package. The USPS indicated the package had been delivered and the company he placed the order with was willing to ship a replacement order if he filed a police report.  The contents of the package were valued at $285.00.  There are no cameras in the area that would have captured the theft.

On September 8, 2021 at 11:36 a.m. Officer Collins was dispatched to a garage on Walnut Street for a report of a damage to her motor vehicle.  It appeared someone had intentionally scratched her vehicle with the words “DO NOT” on the rear passenger door.  There did not appear to be any cameras in the area and she was not aware of anyone who would want to intentionally vandalize her vehicle.  She stated she would contact her insurance company.

On September 8, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. Officer DiCenso spoke with a male reporting party regarding identity theft.  The male party received two video game systems that he had not purchased.  A credit card had been opened in his name.  He contacted the bank and they indicated they would close the account and investigate the fraudulent purchases.  The reporting party had filed an identity fraud report through identitytheft.gov as well.

On September 9, 2021 at 11:34 p.m. Officer Mankavech spoke with a female reporting party regarding identity theft and credit card fraud.  She stated in July 2020 someone attempted to make charges on her credit card at “whynotleaseit” in New Hampshire.  She learned that in addition to attempted charges on her credit card an account had been opened with “whynotleaseit” and $562.00 was charged and was now in collection.  She had spoken with Experian about the potential impact this would have on her credit rating.  The incident is under investigation.

On September 11, 2021 at 2:24 p.m. a male and female party entered the police station and were arguing.  An officer spoke to both individuals and learned that the male party uses a metal detector as a hobby and had dug about ½ dozen holes in the open field across from 500 Washington Street which the female party thought could damage the grass.  The female party followed the male party back to his apartment on Washington Street and commented that she now knew where he lived which made him uncomfortable.  The female party was advised there is no prohibition against metal-detecting or digging but there is a prohibition about damaging turf.  The officer suggested that the male party try to find a new location to avoid damaging the turf, which he agreed to. 

On September 11, 2021 at 3:48 p.m. an officer spoke with a male and female party in a vehicle on Worcester Street who had gotten into a verbal argument and the male party refused to get out of the female party’s vehicle.  The two had been working on an irrigation system and the male party dug too deeply and damaged an irrigation line.  The female party advised him he would have to compensate her for the replacement of the line which led to the argument.  The officer was able to verbally deescalate the situation and restore the peace.

On September 12, 2021 at 8:30 p.m. Officer Lucenta spoke with a male reporting party regarding credit card fraud.  The male party stated that his credit card company contacted him about some fraudulent activity.  There were 4 charges made on September 11^th and 12^th totaling $333.24 that he did not make.  Officer Lucenta is investigating.

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Wellesley, MA police log for the week of Aug. 31-Sept. 4:

Arrests

On September 1, 2021 at 10:54 a.m. Officer Cunningham was on patrol when he observed a commercial truck with an uncovered load, broken taillight and no inspection sticker.  He stopped the truck and spoke with the operator, and requested his license and the vehicle registration.  A query of his information indicated there was an active warrant issued by Peabody District Court for motor vehicle related charges and that he did not possess a valid driver’s license.  He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and transported to Dedham District Court.

On September 2, 2021 at 11:56 a.m. Officer Rosenberg was dispatched to the lower falls area for a report of a male party who had stolen cigarettes from a gas station and left when confronted by an employee.   The male party was located across the street.  Officers attempted to speak with him about the theft but he was uncooperative and attempted to run away from them.  He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner and transported to Dedham District Court.

On September 4, 2021 at 5:45 p.m. Officer DeBernardi was dispatched to Worcester Street for a report of an erratic operator.  There were multiple people who called the Emergency Communications Center stating that the gray pickup truck was unable to maintain its lane of travel and had struck the guardrail several times.  Officer DeBernardi encountered the operator, after he pulled into the driveway of a residence on Cliff Road.  He indicated he had been operating the vehicle.  The driver was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slow and slurred.  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 pass those tests.  He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and released on personal recognizance.

Incidents

On August 30, 2021 at 6:44 a.m. Officer Fritts was dispatched to Sprague School Field maintenance shed for a report of past vandalism to the shed.  An employee of the Town of Wellesley Facilities and Maintenance Department showed Officer Fritts some new graffiti that appeared to be written in pen on the Francis Road side of the building.  The vandalism occurred sometimes between August 27^th and August 30^th.  There are no suspects at this time.

On August 30, 2021 at 5:09 p.m. Officer Harris spoke to a male party who stated his Range Rover was stolen from his driveway on August 29^th and was recovered in Methuen.  He believed the door was locked when the vehicle was taken.  The garage door opener and vehicle registration were taken from the vehicle.  Officer Harris is investigating.

On August 31, 2021 at 8:41 a.m. Officer Collins spoke with an employee of the Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility about a road rage incident that had occurred a short time earlier where the male operator of a white Volkswagen Jetta attempted to throw items at him two times.  He believed the operator may have felt that the trash truck cut him off while he was driving.  Officer Collins was able to identify the vehicle involved and operator.  He did not wish to speak about the incident.  Officer Collins issued him a citation for littering.

On August 31, 2021 at 6:12 p.m. officers were dispatched to a business on Washington Street for a report of a customer causing a disturbance.  The customer and 2 store employees were arguing when officers arrived.   Officers spoke to the parties involved and learned that there was a dispute about payment for items and whether an item previously purchased that was damaged could be returned.  One of the store employees stated during a struggle over the merchandise the customer dug her fingernails into her arms.  There were visible red marks on her arm.  The customer agreed to pay for one of the items and they were advised the dispute about the other item being damaged was a civil matter.  The customer will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Simple Assault and Battery.

On September 1, 2021 at 6:41 p.m. officers were dispatched to a business on Washington Street for an unruly customer who refused to leave the premises.  Upon arrival the officers spoke with the business employees and customer.  The customer had purchased a first time customer discount on Groupon for services despite being a return customer.  The salon told her she could not use the Groupon.  The customer demanded they refund her the money for the services at which point they advised her she had paid Groupon for the services not the salon.  The customer was given a verbal no trespass order by the employee and a pre-existing credit on her account with the salon will be refunded to her.

On September 2, 2021 at 4:25 p.m. officers were dispatched to a residence for a report of a water problem in the residence.  The basement had flooded and while there the officers and fire department personnel observed that the house was in disarray and the gas would need to be shut off due to the water in the basement.  The female party did not wish to leave the residence.  A report was filed with the State Elder Affairs Office who advised the female party should be transported to the hospital and they would find temporary housing for her once she was released from the hospital.

On September 3, 2021 at 2:35 p.m. Officer Shore spoke with a female party regarding identity fraud.  She stated an unknown individual used her personal information to open a credit card account in May of 2020 and she received a notice in the mail in August stating the credit card account was overdue.  She called the credit card company and advised them she did not have an account with them. She had also reported the issue to the credit reporting bureaus and requested a watch be put on her accounts and to dispute the charge.   There are no suspects at this time.

On September 3, 2021 at 10:30 p.m. Officer Dixon was dispatched to a residence on Dunedin Road for a past breaking and entering into the residence.  It appeared someone has forced entry through a basement window and opened several cabinets and drawers.  Detectives responded to process the scene.  The incident is under investigation.

On September 3, 2021 at 11:34 p.m. Officer Scopa spoke to a male reporting party regarding a PayPal account that had been hacked.  He stated that an individual he had met on social media had somehow hacked his Facebook account and replaced his account information with his own and then he believed the individual was messaging his contacts requesting money.  He stated he also received an invoice for $28.99 from PayPal.  Officer Harris advised him to notify his contacts that his account had been hacked and to block the account.  The reporting party had already notified PayPal about the fraudulent activity.  He was advised to monitor his credit and contact Officer Scopa if he noticed anything suspicious.