The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Arrests
Nov. 26, 2:18 a.m.: An officer monitoring traffic on Galen Street saw a vehicle traveling toward Watertown Square at about 47 mph in a 30 mph zone. The car didn’t stop for a few blocks after the officer tried to pull it over. The driver showed signs of impairment, including a smell of alcohol coming from his breath. The man admitted to consuming alcohol before driving. He failed five field sobriety tests. The 38-year-old Watertown man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, and failing to stop for police.
Nov. 28, 4:19 a.m.: An officer on Mt. Auburn Street near the East End fire station clocked a vehicle going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone and the vehicle did with not have its lights on. The officer switched on the lights on top of the cruiser and the driver slowed several times but did not pull over until she was a few blocks into Cambridge. The driver said she had a suspended license, which police confirmed. The 32-year-old Waltham woman was arrested for driving with a suspended license, failing to stop for police, speeding, and an equipment violation.
Nov. 28, 5:10 a.m.: An officer was called to Boylston Street at Nichols Avenue after it was reported a man was lying down half in the street and half on the sidewalk. When officers approached, the man screamed and yelled at the police to get away. He then stood up and walked away. He was belligerent and refused to cooperate with police when they asked him questions. Officers told him to stop so they could check on him. The man ran away, but police caught up. When the tried to detained him, the man got physical, kicked the officer, and attempted to get away. The 31-year-old Saugus man was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
Nov. 29, 5:48 p.m.: A concerned motorist called police because the driver saw another vehicle swerving as it drove down Orchard Street. The driver followed the vehicle and told police where it was going. The driver of the vehicle that was swerving pulled into a driveway on Chapman Street. Officers arrived as the driver was exiting the vehicle. The driver showed signs of impairment, and admitted to drinking alcohol before driving. The man failed five field sobriety tests. The 61-year-old Watertown man was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Nov. 29, 6:03 p.m.: A man was walking on Boylston Street at Nichols Avenue and when police approached he began to run. The officer caught up and the man stopped. He began yelling at officer, but they were able to get him to sit down so they could check his wellbeing. Then he stood up quickly and assaulted the officer. When officers attempted to detain him, the man physically assaulted the officer. He resisted when the office placed him under arrest. The 35-year-old Waltham man was arrested on charges of disturbing be peace, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
Dec. 1, 5:28 p.m.:An officer on Mt. Auburn Street ran the license plate of a vehicle and found it had an expired registration. The officer stopped the vehicle and found the driver had a suspended license. The 55-year-old Watertown man was arrested for driving with a license suspended for an OUI, and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Dec. 1, 9:19 p.m.: Security at Marshall’s spotted a man take items, put them in a cart, and then left without paying. When security tried to stop him he ran across the street and went into Target. Watertown Police got a description and stopped the man outside Target. They also found he had two arrest warrants. The 53-year-old Boston man was arrested on charges of shoplifting — a third offense, and two warrants: one from Brookline District Court for shoplifting — a third offense, and one from Cambridge District Court for open and gross lewdness.
Update: A man who broke into a vehicle at the Mt. Auburn Club on Nov. 25 was caught using a credit card taken from the vehicle. An alert was put out to area police departments and the man was arrested by Lincoln Police. The 43-year-old Waltham man was arrested on charges of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, and misuse of a credit card. He also has warrants from other police departments.
Incidents
Nov. 26, 10:44 a.m.: A man reported that a nine-foot Fisher Snow Plow was stolen. He stored it in a lot on Howard Street. He believes it was taken within the last three weeks. It is worth $3,000.
Nov. 26, 12:15 p.m.: A man was seen taking three Nintendo Switch games and concealing them under his clothing at Best Buy. He left the store, got into a van and left. Store security got the license plate and found it was a work van. Police contacted the company, and found the vehicle had GPS on it. The company told Police where it was located, and officers located the man in Brighton. He had gotten rid of the items. The 33-year-old Somerville man was summonsed to Waltham District Court on a charge of shoplifting.
Nov. 26, 4 p.m.: A Puritan Road resident reported being the victim of a scam. The woman said she got a call on Nov. 19 from a person claiming to be her grandson who said, “Granny, I’m in trouble.” Another man got on the phone and said he was a police officer. He said the that the woman’s grandson had been arrested by the DEA and told her she should send $7,500 to an address in Philadelphia. The woman sent the cash and on Nov. 20 she got another call and asked for $12,000 to get bail her grandson out of jail. She sent a total of $21,000. Police worked with FedEx to track the package and tracked it to an address in Philadelphia. It was a vacant house that was up for sale. The money was not retrievable.
Nov. 27, 5:34 p.m.: Police responded to three homes that were broken into on the same day. They were called to Winsor Avenue when an alarm went off. When they got there Police found the home had been burglarized. During the investigation, Police found that the home next door and one on School Street, which abuts the properties, were also entered. They break ins occurred between 8 a.m. and 5:34 p.m. No one was home during the break ins, no one was harmed, and no one was threatened. Detectives are investigating. Police asked residents to be on the look out for anything suspicious in their neighborhoods and report anything at any time of day.
Nov. 27, 8:46 p.m.: Police went to Best Buy after a man was seen taking an Apple USB from the shelf and hide it in his clothing. He did the same thing with a SanDisk 128 GB memory card. The man was stopped and the items were recovered. The 20-year-old Waltham man was summonsed to Waltham District Court for shoplifting.
Nov. 30, 1:21 p.m.: A resident reported that someone posing as a representative from the Social Security Administration called and said the resident’s Social Security number was stolen and used in a fraud case. The resident was told to send $7,000 to prove that she was not involved in the fraud. She purchased Apple iTunes cards and sent the numbers on the back to the caller. She was contacted again and the person asked for more money. She realized it was a scam and reported it to Police. The money could not be recovered.
Dec. 2, 10:55 a.m.: A fire was reported at the West End Laundry Mat. It was contained to a dryer. The Fire Department extinguished the fire and found that lint trapped behind the dryers started smoldering. The estimated damage was $4,000.
Dec. 2, 5:16 p.m.: A fire was reported in the basement of an apartment building on Bridge Street. The caller heard beeping and smelled smoke. The Police and Fire departments responded and found it was in the laundry room. An estimated $500 in damage was done to the room and $350 in damage was done to a dryer. There were no injuries.