Belmont Police Log, April 12-17: Firearm stolen from vehicle, check fraud, stolen package,
The following are excerpts from the Belmont Police log as made available by the Belmont Police Department. The log is public and available for review. All persons are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
Saturday, April 12
6:31 p.m.: A Belmont woman reported receiving threatening emails from allanbalaku@hotmail.com. During this time period, there were several failed transactions from her Walmart and Target accounts associated with the name, “Rafaell Matos.” There was also a failed attempt to transfer her phone number linked to her Xfinity account to an iPhone 13, a transaction she did not make. Xfinity informed her someone gained access to her Hotmail account and was able to make changes through it. When she checked her other accounts, she realized her Uber and Amazon accounts were accessed. She froze all her bank accounts and changed the password for all accounts that were compromised.
Sunday, April 13
8:15 a.m.: A Belmont woman reported a check she mailed was washed. It was mailed inside a mailbox on Harriet Avenue. The amount of the check was changed from $50 to $9,680.10. It was originally payable to Wellesley College but changed to “Jean C. Ramos” for “renovations. It was digitally deposited via FCU. She is contacting Citizens Bank to notify them about the incident as well as the credit bureaus.
1:10 p.m.: A hit and run was reported by an Ashland woman who was driving Eastbound on Belmont Street and stopped at a red light across from the United Church of Christ. She was rear-ended by another vehicle and pulled over, expecting the other vehicle to pull in behind her. The vehicle instead went around other vehicles on the wrong side of the road and took a left turn Payson Road or Van Ness Road. She believes it was a white Chrysler sedan. She provided a license plate the Belmont Police could not locate a match. Her vehicle was damaged in the rear.
Monday, April 14
9:30 a.m.: A Bartlett Avenue resident reported a stolen computer from her porch. She was expecting a MacBook pro to be delivered from her work. She was told it was delivered but never received it. Her surveillance camera shows it being delivered by a male FedEx employee who took a photo of the package inside the porch entryway. Thirty minutes later a blue Honda pulled up a couple of houses down the street. A black male wearing a black New Balance sweatshirt and pants with Nike sneakers exited the vehicle and is seen putting on a face mask and a black Nike hat. The male appears to be the same male that stole a package on Clyde Street (he was wearing the same outfit). She believes the computer is valued at $2,000.
Tuesday, April 15
11:27 a.m.: A Sherman Street resident reported his motor vehicle was broken into overnight. It was parked in his driveway. He noticed the driver’s side door was not completely shut prior to him entering and noticed a piece missing from the console. The vehicle was most likely unlocked overnight.
4:02 p.m.: An Alexander Avenue resident reported a stolen firearm. His vehicle was broken into overnight. It was parked in the driveway and unlocked. There were no signs of forced entry or damage to the vehicle. The only item missing was his red North-Face backpack with grey straps. It contained miscellaneous tools, clothing, and a firearm. The magazine contained 10 rounds of 9 MM ammunition. Officers are asking neighbors with cameras if they caught anything on film. The firearm was entered into NCIC as stolen.
Tuesday, April 15
5:23 p.m.: A Belmont woman reported someone called from New York Department of Housing and Urban Development to inform her applications for subsidized housing were submitted by a male and a female using her and her husband’s name. She is monitoring her credit score and notifying her financial institutions.
5:55 p.m.: A Belmont woman reported her change purse lost while shopping at Star Market. It’s black/brown with a zipper and similar to the size of a wallet. It contained $800 in cash, a Visa credit card, driver’s license and insurance cards. She was advised to contact her credit card company to report her card being lost. Belmont Police will also check the cameras at Star Market.
5:58 p.m.: McLean Hospital reported a missing person. A patient was last seen on a group walk at approximately 4:30 p.m. She is a white female, approximately 5-feet-six- inches, 162 pounds with brown hair. She is diagnosed with psychosis and was on voluntary admission to the hospital. Police checked on her last known address in Arlington and notified the Arlington police. A BOLO was put out to surrounding cities. She was entered as missing in NCIC. The woman was later found at her Arlington residence.
6 p.m.: Hit and Run in the Star Market parking lot on Trapelo Road. An Arlington woman operating a purple 2017 Toyota SUV was backing out of her parking space and accidentally pressed the accelerator, striking two other vehicles parked directly across from her: a 2021 Subaru operated by a Watertown woman and a 2020 Honda operated by a Belmont woman. Both vehicles were damaged and towed. The Watertown woman was issued a citation for an uninsured motor vehicle.
Wednesday, April 16
1:40 p.m.: Belmont Police suspended the license to carry of an Alexander Avenue resident.
1:41 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported missing property. He took a Lyft on April 4 and left his book bag in the vehicle. He contacted the Lyft driver who said he would return it to him next time he returns to the Belmont area, but it has not been returned. The bag contained a Victor screen reader valued at 550 and a subway card. Multiple attempts were made by Belmont Police to contact the driver, but the phone number was out of service. Belmont Police asked if he was able to obtain a license plate for the operator. An application was also completed on the Lyft Law Enforcement website.
2:28 p.m.: A Belmont resident speaking on behalf of an Underwood Street resident who is disabled, reported fraud. A check was cashed for $4,600 payable to Eugene D. Lee. He did not know who Eugene was and did not make a check out for the amount of $4,600. TD Bank called him and were also inquiring about the check, which was a Cambridge Savings Bank check. A phone number was written on the back of the check that the man did not recognize.
3:11 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported identity theft. She provided her credit card and Mass. License information to a website she believed was safe after her CPA requested information. She owns her own consulting business. She realized it was not legitimate and alerted Chase Financial who cancelled her card. She also initiated the process of attempting to obtain a new license. She was advised to inform her CPA about the incident and anyone else she may do business with personally or otherwise.
Thursday, April 17
4:36 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported his bicycle missing from his garage. It’s a bright yellow Specialized rockhopper valued at $800. There are no cameras on the property. The garage does not have a door, and the bicycle was not locked.
6:45 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported a pit bull attempted to come after her daughter through their backyard fence. She was concerned because the dog is usually off leash, and she is worried it may be dangerous. A message was left with the Belmont animal control officer. Belmont Police spoke to the owner of the dog who said the dog got away from his little brother and he was not able to gain control of the dog. The resident said he was dog sitting for his mother who is on vacation. The dog is up to date on his vaccines and registered out of Brighton.
8:45 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported potential black mail by someone he met on a dating website, Grinder. They were communicating through the app and exchanged contact information. He then asked several sexual questions and requested full body nudes which he provided. The other male provided nudes of a trans individual with male genitalia. They made plans to meet, but 30 minutes prior, he received a text that showed a nude photo along with a Google search showing names and contact information of his parents, brother, cousins and a few other people he didn’t know. He then told him he was, “ready to ruin your life and send those pics to your family if you don’t cooperate.” He immediately blocked the phone number. A short time later, he received a group text that included his brother, his cousin and five unknown individuals from 213-249-8178 that read, “Hello everyone. I’m here to expose someone who sends nude pictures and videos to underage kids online and also into gay.” There were no photos attached to the text. He blocked that number as well. The person did not ask him for money or any other compensation. When he tried to retrieve information from the Grinder app, he discovered he was blocked and could no longer see the person’s profile. He could not provide a last name or any other information. He closed his Grinder profile and deactivated his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Belmont Police responded to seven mental health calls between April 12 and April 18.