The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Arrests
None
Incidents
Jan. 23, 11:21 a.m.: A Santander Bank rep called police after a man tried to cash a suspicious check. The man came into the branch in Arsenal Yards and tried to cash a $12,500 check. The manager told the man he had to verify the check because it was so large. When the manager went into another area of the bank to do so, the customer left the bank. He did not receive any cash. The manager then contacted the holder of the account from where the check came. The person said that he had not written the check, and the number was out of sequence with other checks. Police are trying to identify the suspect, who is described as a Black male, 6-feet-tall, who was wearing a red hoody.
Jan. 24, 11:21 a.m.: A resident reported that he had been scammed. A former classmate from Brighton High School contacted him and said he needed someone to cash a check for $16,517.50. He was told that he would receive half the money from the check. The resident, a 20-year-old Watertown man, went to a local bank to deposit the check, and he gave $7,200 to the classmate, a 22-year-old man from Boston, who told him he could keep the rest. Later that day the resident tried to withdraw money from the account and discovered he had insufficient funds, and that he had deposited a bad check. He tried to contact the classmate but his social media accounts had been shut down and he would not respond to messages. Police have the identification of the suspect and are investigating.
Jan. 24, 7:27 p.m.: Officers responded to Arsenal Wine & Spirits after a shoplifting occurred. A man came into the store and took a bottle of Hennessy cognac worth $46 and a bottle of Espolon tequila valued at $40. The suspect left the area, possibly on an MBTA bus. Police looked at the security footage and recognized the man as the same person who shoplifted at Roche Bros. a few weeks prior, and from Best Buy in August. Police went back and confirmed it was the same man in video from the incidents at the other stores. Police requested an arrest warrant for the 28-year-old homeless man from the Boston and Watertown area for shoplifting by concealing merchandise. He also has two warrants from Waltham District Court related to the other shopliftings: one for larceny over $1,200 and the other for shoplifting.
Jan. 25, 2:51 p.m.: A Nash Street resident left home at 8 a.m. and returned at 2:36 p.m. and noticed a rear sliding door was ajar. The resident also found the interior door to the basement was ajar. Nothing had been taken from the home, and when officers spoke to neighbors no one had seen anything. Police are investigating it as a possible breaking and entering.
Jan. 26, 4:15 p.m.: A man called after getting into altercation with a friend at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club. The man, who is a 43-year-old man from Marlborough, said he into a discussion with his friend, a 57-year-old man from Watertown, about a work related issue. The discussion escalated into an argument, and they went outside into the parking lot. At that point, the caller said, the other man punched him in the face. The friend said they got into a verbal argument but it never got physical. Police told the man who said he was punched that he could seek a complaint in Waltham District Court. There were no injuries and neither man was intoxicated.
Jan. 28, 8:55 p.m.: The manager of Ulta Beauty at Arsenal Yards said a pair of women came in and took multiple items. One of the women provided a distraction while the other took 14 fragrances worth $1,865. They left without paying. The first suspect was described as a Black female with a heavy build, black hair, and wore a black winter coat, a black sweater, black leggings, and silver eyeglasses. The second suspect is a Black female who wore a black baseball cap, a green jacket, a grey sweatshirt, and black pants.
Jan. 29, 1:40 p.m.: Police went to Channing Road for an ID fraud. The resident received three debit cards that were opened in the resident’s name, but the person had not opened the accounts. The resident did not call police because no funds were missing. Later, the person got a 1099 tax document saying that the resident had received $7,160 in unemployment benefits, but the person never filed for or received them. A similar thing occurred in 2021. The IRS is looking into the unemployment benefit issue.
I see this above:
“He also has two warrants from Waltham District Court related to the other shopliftings: one for larceny over $1,200 and the other for shoplifting.”
In other words, the judge let the criminal go, the criminal then did not show up in court TWICE, and the criminal then committed more crimes.
This is another of many examples of judges not doing their jobs and being a menace to society.
One effect, of course, is that the police are discouraged from arresting people because they know that these incompetent, destructive judges will simply let the criminal go free. And the judges have a lifetime appointment.
The Massachusetts Governors Council votes these judges into office after the governor nominates them.
I would like to see the Governors Council take responsibility for these incompetent judges and explain why it saw fit to install these judges in the first place.
Of course, the Governors Council won’t speak up because it doesn’t have to.
This is how societies fall apart.
For information’s sake, warrants aren’t always issued after someone has gone to court. As in this case, the Police identified the man and put out a warrant for him.