The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Dec. 13: A Bromfield Street resident received a suspicious email from an unknown person asking to send money to a Bitcoin address. The resident did not send the money and reported it to the Police.
Dec. 13, 8 p.m.: A man went into Target and took 21 packages of playing cards with a total value of $134.
Dec. 13, 10 p.m.: Police received a report of vandalism. A vehicle parked on Orchard Street had the side mirror smashed and ripped off the vehicle. It occurred between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Dec. 14, 2 a.m.: An officer on patrol spotted a vehicle run through a red light at Main and Church streets, and was weaving around the roadway. The vehicle crossed over the double yellow line and drove up onto the curb. The driver was pulled over and was given field sobriety tests. Jared Doyle, 22, of Tewksbury, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, marked lanes violation, and a red light violation.
Dec. 15, 2:30 p.m. A woman went into Target and stole $620 worth of merchandise.
Dec. 15, 8 p.m.: A package was taken off the front porch of Spruce Street home. It contained $240 worth of items.
Dec. 15. 10:30 p.m.: The door handle of a vehicle was damaged when someone yanked on it until it was ripped off the door. The vehicle was parked on Arlington Street.
Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m.: The passenger side mirror was damaged on a vehicle parked on Beechwood Avenue.
Dec. 17, 4 p.m.: A package was taken from a home on Arsenal Street. It contained $200 in electronics.
Dec. 17: A man was caught taking $340 in merchandise from Target. Police discovered he had three warrants. Frederick Willard, 43, of Boston, was arrested for shoplifting, and on the warrants: one from Malden District Court for shoplifting, one from Quincy District Court for larceny, and the third from Dorchester District Court for larceny.
Dec. 18, 2:30 a.m.: A vehicle being driven without its headlights on was spotted driving the wrong way down Spring Street and then turned onto Main Street. Police pulled the driver over. An odor of alcohol was detected on the driver’s breath, and field sobriety tests were conducted. Sean Thomas, 40 of Stoneham, was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol — a second offense, a motor vehicle lights violation, and a one-way street violation.
Dec. 18: Vandalism was discovered at the Taxiarchae/Archangels Greek Orthodox Church on Bigelow Avenue. Someone sprayed blue paint on the exterior wall of the church.
Dec. 18, 4 p.m.: Target security spotted a man taking $32 worth of merchandise.
Where’s a cop when you need one? At Target! Bullseye!!!
“Dec. 17: A man was caught taking $340 in merchandise from Target. Police discovered he had three warrants. Frederick Willard, 43, of Boston, was arrested for shoplifting, and on the warrants: one from Malden District Court for shoplifting, one from Quincy District Court for larceny, and the third from Dorchester District Court for larceny.”
Shame the perp besmirched the name of the late great comic actor, Fred Willard, but Fred stole scenes, not merch.
Fred from Boston working on his fourth warrant, with many more to come in our lenient Commonwealth. Fred has a long, uninterrupted career ahead of him.
Now, Willard the actor was also arrested. Twice, for alleged lewd acts.
As reported in AP:
California voters pass initiative to make some shoplifting and drug offenses felonies
BY TRÂN NGUYỄN AND SOPHIE AUSTIN
Updated 7:59 PM EST, November 6, 2024
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters decided on 10 ballot measures including one that would turn some nonviolent crimes, like shoplifting, into felonies again.
Proposition 36
Frustrated with what they see as rampant retail crimes, voters approved an initiative making shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders again and increasing penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The tough-on-crime ballot measure also gives judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to get treatment.
The measure partly rolls back a progressive law passed by voters in 2014 that downgraded several nonviolent crimes to misdemeanors, including theft under $950 in value and some drug offenses. The reversal reflects widespread anger among voters who are increasingly pinning the blame for homelessness and retail theft on criminal justice reform and progressive district attorneys.
Massachusetts seems to always follow California’s progressive ways. This is one that I actually agree with. We need to repeal our MA law that allows shoplifters to pretty much get a pass if they keep their stealing under $1.000. For repeat offenders it’s time to thrown the book at them.
Police make arrests and go through all the paperwork and the repeat criminals get out with a slap on the wrist. Let’s encourage our legislators to change our laws to help discourage shoplifting. This type of crime causes our retail prices to go up as the retailers can’t absorb the large amount of losses to these repeat offenders. People need to be held accountable.