The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Arrest
Oct. 31, 11:58 a.m.: Police received a report of a man who had just shoplifted at CVS in Watertown Square. The man was seen placing cans of Axe Body Spray into a backpack and leave the store without paying. The suspect was described as a bald African-American man, wearing gray sweatpants, a gray sweatshirt with a gray backpack. A man fitting the description was located a block away by Police. He said he had just come from CVS. Police found the cans of body spray in his backpack. Officers also found he had three outstanding warrants for his arrest. The 43-year-old Boston man was arrested was arrested on a charge of shoplifting by concealing merchandise — a second offense, and three warrants out of Boston Municipal Court: the first for assault and battery, two counts of assault and battery on a police officer and one count of assault; the second warrant for a threat to commit a crime and trespassing; and the third warrant for malicious destruction of property and assault and battery.
Incidents
Police received 30 reports of unemployment fraud between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1.
Oct. 26, 10:11 a.m.: Medford Police advised the Watertown Police that a car that was stolen from their city was pinging to an address on Cottage Street. Police determined that the 2019 Chevy Blazer was the stolen vehicle. It was towed and Medford Police will be investigating.
Oct. 26, 2:18 p.m.: The manager at CVS reported that a pair of people came in and stole $1,892.75 in personal hygiene products and shampoo. They came in and placed items into Market Basket reusable shopping bags and left the store without paying. The man was described as African-American, who was bald, and wore a gray sweatshirt, black pants and had a black backpack. The woman was African-American, and wore a black Boston College hooded sweatshirt and black pants.
Oct. 26, 5:18 p.m.: A Watertown woman received a letter from the U.S. Small Business Administration informing her that a loan for $40,000 had been opened in her name. She had never applied for a loan. She notified the SBA about the incident and that the loan was fraudulent,. The loan was canceled and she was not out any money.
Oct. 28, 1:43 p.m.: A 78-year-old woman came into the Police Station to report a scam. On the 28th, at about 10:45 a.m., she received a call that was allegedly from the District Attorney’s Office out of Watertown, N.Y. The person on the phone claimed to be a prosecutor and said that her grandson had been involved in a motor vehicle accident in which a pregnant woman was injured. The alleged DA said her grandson was arrested and is being held on bail. She was told to withdraw $9,740 in cash for bail money, and received instructions not to tell anyone else about the incident. The woman went to the bank, withdrew the cash, but felt at that point that it could be a scam. Police confirmed it was scam and prevented the money from being lost.
Oct. 29, 12:42 p.m.: A woman responded a Craigslist ad for a Labrador puppy. She was told that it cost $800 and she was asked to pay a 50 percent deposit using CashApp. The puppy was supposed to be delivered on Oct. 29, but it wasn’t. The person recontacted her and said he needed her to send more money or it would not be coming until Nov. 9. The person with the ad continued to pressure her for more money, but she did not send any. The scammer said he lived in Watertown and his parent was a police officer. When Police checked the information they found the man did not live at the address provided, and he did not have a parent on the Police Department. The woman lost the deposit. Police are investigating.
Oct. 30, 9:16 a.m.: A box truck parked at Boston Floor Covering on School Street was broken into. The 2006 GMC truck was left there at 6 p.m. on the 29th. When the owner came to work at 8:30 a.m. on the 30th he saw the rear storage compartment of the truck had been rummaged through. The truck’s storage area was not locked, and there was nothing missing.
Oct. 31, 3 p.m.: A Watertown man got a call from someone claiming to be a police officer with the “East Boston Police Department.” The man told the victim that there was a warrant for his arrest, and in order to clear it up, he had to transfer $2,992 via Zelle to an account. This resident transferred the money and then realized that it was a scam. Police are investigating.
Nov. 1, 5:18 p.m.: A pair of people, a man and woman, who were distributing flyers about the conflict in Armenia called police after man pointed a pistol at the man when he left a flyer at a home on Merrill Road. The leaflleter went up to a door of the home and when he went to put the flyer inside the screen door he saw a man at a window inside the home pointing a gun at him. The leafleter showed the man the flyer and tried to tell him what he was doing. As he explained, the resident got extremely angry and kept pointing the gun at him. The leafleter turned around and quickly walked away. Officers went to the home after the incident was reported and spoke to the homeowner. As they approached the door, the man had a gun in his hand. The resident cooperated with Police and secured the gun. The man said he was scared because he thought someone was breaking in. Officers confirmed the firearm was loaded, and that the man was properly licensed to possess the weapon. Police determined that they had probable cause that the resident had committed an assault with dangerous weapon for pointing the gun at the leafleter. Police investigated the man’s home and found eight other weapons that were not properly stored in the home — they were not secured with a trigger lock or in a safe, and were left out in the house. The 48-year-old man was summonsed to Waltham District Court on six counts of improper storage of firearm and two counts of improper storage of a high capacity firearm. All the firearms and ammunition was seized by Police, and the man’s firearm license to carry was suspended. The man received a Massachusetts Class A Large Capacity Firearms license in June 2019. It has a restriction for hunting and target practice. There had been no prior complaints about the man.