4:20 p.m. – Customer Problem. APD officers were called to Homewood Suites in East Arlington to help management remove a hotel guest who refused to vacate the premises. The guest, a 79-year-old Wellesley Hills resident, had apparently been inattentively washing clothes in both the kitchen and bathroom sinks and allowed each to overflow, causing unspecified water damage. After a protracted discussion, the officers advised and convinced the woman she needed to decamp. They then helped her find replacement lodgings in Peabody and arrange transportation there via ride share.
Thursday, Sept. 26
12:12 p.m. – Drugs for Destruction. An APD officer on neighborhood detail noticed a glassine bag on the sidewalk on Lewis Avenue, which later tested positive for cocaine. The bag was entered as evidence at the station and tagged for destruction.
3:01 p.m. – Larceny Over $250 by False Pretense. Two Arlington brothers in their 60s and 70s paid dearly for listening to a fast talker operating on their street who knocked on their door with offers to perform what he claimed were much-needed repairs on their house. The scammer then lured them outside to point out worn shingles on the roof, plywood under the roof that had seen better days and shaky-looking gutters. By the end of his spiel, he’d convinced them to write a $6,000 deposit check on the spot for work that his company, “Beaver Construction,” would supposedly perform. But that was just the beginning. Ten days later the man showed up again, saying he couldn’t begin work without another deposit for supplies and other preparations and sauntered away with another check, this time for $60,000. A few days later the man reappeared with new demands and conditions, pocketing another $60,000 check. Finally, after the three checks made out to the phony company had cleared, the man showed up a fourth time, this time demanding $100,000. Soon after one of the brothers had written out a check, this time to one Alfie Lawrence, the brothers began to have qualms and second thoughts. They contacted their bank, succeeded in stopping the newest payment and filed a police report. The matter is under investigation. Capt. Sean Kearney commented that door-to-door con men can be good at what they do, and that to protect themselves, residents should always at least check first that the pitchman has a proper door-to-door solicitor’s license.
Friday, Sept. 27
2:48 p.m. – ID Theft / Larceny Over $250 by False Pretense. A 73-year-old Symmes Road resident received a dubious phone call and reportedly divulged personal information leading to a $4,500 PayPal transfer from his bank account. The man was unable to clarify the circumstances of the pitch to APD officers and has been referred to Minuteman Elder Services to receive what assistance they can offer.
Sunday, Sept. 29
12:21 a.m. – Crash Without Injury. A 39-year-old Broadway resident was jarringly roused from sleep by a loud crash just outside his home. He rose to check outside, only to find that his neighbor, with whom he shares a driveway, had butted his 2014 Honda Civic up against the foundation of the house after ramming into it with her 2018 Honda Pilot. The neighbor told arriving officers she “hadn’t expected the car to be there.” The Civic sustained serious front and rear damage; the Pilot, with a taller profile, had lesser damage to the front.
Monday, Sept. 30
9:12 a.m. – Accident With Injury. A 2020 Lexus broadsided a DPW trash-disposal truck traveling west in the 900 block of Mass. Ave. after its driver, a 35-year-old Arlington male, made too hasty a turn from a side street. The Lexus driver, who suffered minor injuries but declined treatment, told officers at the scene that he “had not noticed” the DPW truck, a 2018 Ford F550, which received minor damage. The Lexus, whose air bag had deployed, was towed.
12:44 p.m. – Larceny Under $1,200. A 51-year-old Florence Avenue resident contacted APD to report license plates he’d forgotten to remove from a 2002 Toyota he’d recently sold through CarMax had been stolen. He told officers he’d become aware of the theft after a bill for turnpike charges against those plates arrived in the mail. APD has entered the plate numbers into an interstate tracking system for stolen plates. Capt. Kearnan commented that turnpike camera photos taken at the time of the charges should reveal whether the plates are still in use on the Toyota or have been transferred to another vehicle.
12:47 p.m. – Identity Fraud. A Day Street resident contacted APD on behalf of her 81-year-old mother after repeated attempts to open accounts using her personal information over the past few months. The daughter told officers her mother had unwittingly provided personal details to a phone caller. A subsequent attempt to open a new Bank of America account was foiled after the mother’s LifeLock account detected new activity. A later attempt succeeded, however, netting the scammer $3,600 from the elder’s account. Capt. Kearnan urges that anyone in town who has so much as been asked for personal information by an unknown caller should hang up and then not hesitate to call APD. “Phones are open 24/7,” he said, “We’d much rather hear about these incidents up front than investigate them later.”
Sept. 10-16: 2 bikeway injuries, thefts, attempted thefts, squabbles
This news column by YourArlington volunteer writer Chris Wilbur was published Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, based on information from Arlington Police Department daily logs and explanations from APD spokesman Capt. Richard Flynn.
