The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
May 13, 9 p.m.: A man was seen walking around Target and taking various items and placing them in a backpack. He tried to leave without paying. When stopped he had a flashlight, three packages of film, and an umbrella worth a total of $48.97. When they looked into the man’s record, police found that he had two outstanding warrants. The 42-year-old Rowley man was arrested on a charge of shoplifting and on the warrants: one from Newbury District Court for violating an abuse prevention order, and the second from East Boston District Court for assault and battery and larceny from a person.
May 13, 9:33 p.m.: A resident of Olcott Street called police to report a black BMW revving its motor for 15 minutes. The vehicle left before police got there, but officers located it on Main Street and Lexington Street. When the light turned green the driver sped off. An officer pulled the vehicle over at Main and Waverley Avenue. When speaking the the driver, police detected an odor of alcohol from the man, and saw that he showed signs of intoxication. The driver said he had been on Olcott, but denied revving his motor. He was asked to perform field sobriety tests and failed them. The 46-year-old Brighton man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and was cited for speeding.
May 19, 7:59 p.m.: A man and his wife went to the Halfway Cafe and started showing photos from the man’s phone to customers. Before showing the photos, the man said “You’re probably going to be upset with me,” and showed the photos, which were of someone lying in an an open casket. The man said he had just taken them at a nearby funeral home, and he also took photos of the memories display. By chance, the family of the man in the photos were at Halfway Cafe following the wake. They became extremely upset and confronted the man. Police were called and broke up the disturbance. The man said he did not know the man to whose wake he went. He first said he “felt a calling” to go in, then said he was looking for a job. While speaking with police, the man disrupted officers, and yelled vulgarities and racial slurs at the officers. He was told several times that he was being too loud, and to calm down, but he refused. He and his wife were placed under arrest. While in custody at the Police Station, the man continued to cause a disturbance. Then he defecated and smeared feces around the cell. Also, he urinated in the sink and under the door, and poured water around the cell and under the door. The Police Department had to have a special cleaner come in to clean and sanitize the cell. The 36-year-old Watertown man was arrested for disorderly conduct and vandalizing property. The 36-year-old woman was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Incidents
May 15, 11:45 a.m.: A package went missing from a Parker Street home. The resident said it contained medical supplies and delivery was confirmed by FedEx. When the person got home the package was gone. The contents were worth $50.
May 15, 7:39 p.m.: A Pleasant Street resident received a message from her bank about suspicious activity on a credit card. There were four transactions which the resident did not make: one from a Roxbury gas station for $100, one from a Malden gas station for $100, a third for $69.96 at a store in Braintree and the last for $2.75 for a Coca-Cola in Newton. The woman said she had the card, but remembers having trouble using the card at a gas pump in New Hampshire recently, and suspects it may have been skimmed.
May 16, 2:22 p.m.: A resident reported that he had dropped his car off at a local auto dealership to be serviced on May 13, and when he went back on May 15 he discovered that $1,500 in cash he had stored in the spare tire compartment was missing. He said he left it there to buy a surprise gift for his wife. Police spoke with the manager of the service department who said that the person who worked on the car, which got routine maintenance and had a tire change, had no prior issues and had worked there for 30 years. Police are investigating.
May 17, 10:34 a.m.: An employee at Russo’s market saw a man take numerous items, then went up to a closed checkout counter, stopped briefly, and left the store without paying. The employee went out and asked for the receipt and the man threw some of the merchandise at the employee and punched the employee in the right shoulder. The man fled but was later located by police at the Dunkin’ on River Street in Waltham. Officers found him eating a deli sandwich with a sticker from Russo’s on it. The 68-year-old Waltham man was summonsed to Waltham District Court for assault and battery and shoplifting.
May 18, 8 p.m.: A man parked his car at the Watertown Mall around 7 p.m. on May 18 and when he returned shortly before 8 p.m. the car was gone. Security video showed a man going up to parked cars and pulling on door handles. He opened the door and got into the victim’s vehicle and drove away. The owner was not sure if he left the keys in the car. The suspect on the video was a white male, wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. Police are investigating.