Belmont Police Log, July 18-23: Belmont woman suspected of throwing dog out moving car window, bicyclist struck in head by golf ball, roll-over crash and more

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. 

Friday, July 18

1:57 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported fraud. She received a phone call at 10:30 a.m. from someone claiming to be from Amazon attempting to verify an iPhone purchase that was being sent to an address in New York. The. Male caller talked really fast and knew personal things about her location, which made her nervous. She said he told her he was going to connect her with someone from Social Security due to the fraudulent purchase. Social Security told her she was being looked into in Texas because someone used her identity to rent a car and then got into an accident with drugs in the vehicle. She said they called her back numerous times from different area codes, but all from areas where she has lived and has connections in the past, including, 607-308-1308, 202-596-2567, 617-343-4633, 914-654-2300. They said they would be freezing all her bank accounts and told her she had multiple accounts across the country they were looking into. They stated in order for things to get back to normal, she was going to need to pay $500. They advised her to buy and Apple card and told her to go to Shaw’s near her house. She purchased the gift card for $500 and gave them the serial number over the phone. She said they continued to call her back after she disconnected them, threatening jail time and arrest if she didn’t cooperate with them. They also claimed they were the Belmont Police, and she was going to be arrested if she didn’t do as asked. She realized after she sent the money, it was a scam. She hasn’t answered, but they continued to call her. She is going to keep an eye on her credit report and file a fraud report with Social Security. She was also advised to report the incident with her bank.

Saturday, July 19

10:13 p.m.: Belmont Police observed a vehicle with its rear left tail brake light not functioning. The vehicle was stopped by the officer who then noticed a two-year-old in the back seat with a seatbelt on. The operator and passenger of the vehicle were advised the child was not properly restrained in a car seat. The department’s spare child seat was brought to the vehicle and installed. The parents were told the seat needed to be returned to the Belmont Police within 24 hours. The husband said he would get the vehicle’s brake like fixed.

Sunday, July 20

8:05 a.m.: A School Street resident reported suspicious activity in his backyard. He believed someone was stealing from one of his central air conditioning units. He was on vacation and when he returned, one of the units was not working. He called his technician who repaired the unit and told him the freon was removed from the unit. He later discovered someone untied a wire that secured the door to the emergency cutoff and accessed the switch. The door was left open, and the wire placed on top of the box. The technician told him people are stealing freon to get high and he believes that may have been what happened. The resident said he will look into installing cameras.

12:45 p.m.: A vehicle driving on Concord Avenue was stopped due to an expired registration. Further investigation revealed he had an extradition warrant for his arrest out of New Hampshire. He was issued a criminal application for unregistered motor vehicle, license suspended operating a motor vehicle with a forged document for misuse. He was also charged with fugitive from justice on court warrant.

3:06 p.m.: Shoplifting reported by CVS on Trapelo Road. The suspect fled the scene. Officers were able to identify who the driver was from the license plate. The manager of CVS said the suspect entered CVS and grabbed a shopping bag from one of the aisle hooks and began to put items in the bag. When he began to leave the store, he was prevented by a CVS employee. He said he was going to pay and then left. Security footage shows him taking a shopping bag, a gray Igloo cooler, unnamed shaving goods. The cooler is worth $45, and the bag is worth $1.

Monday, July 21

10:13 a.m.: A resident reported his neighbor stepped out of his side door, looked at him and yelled, “I’ll kill you with one punch. He said he didn’t do anything to provoke this. The man did the same thing to him one year ago. The accused man’s wife said the victim was lying. She said her husband went outside to set up a camera in a tree in their backyard because the victim was throwing bananas into their yard. When her husband stepped out, the man gave her a mean stare, and her husband stared back. No words were exchanged.

7:32 p.m.: Officers responded to a report of two fallen headstones at Grove Street Cemetery. The two headstones were in the same wing of the cemetery, but not immediately near each other. One was in the Maple Path area, and one was in the Norton Circle area. Both were laying with the scribed side face down directly in front of their base. There was no other damage to other stones or gravesites in the area. Many other headstones were tilted and not level in the area, assumed to be caused from natural settling of the ground.

9:20 p.m.: Officers responded to a report of a dog being thrown out of the window of a moving red car at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Brighton Streets.  A witness stopped his car in the roadway to block traffic and secure the dog. He said the dog looked like it hung upside down out the driver’s side window before crashing down with a thud. Cars in both directions immediately stopped. The red car continued driving away. Visual examination of the dog showed it appeared to be in a state of neglect. It was extremely thin, and its ribs and spine were easily visible. Its nails were also very long. The dog was wearing a collar and a Belmont dog tag.  It was noted that the Medford Police found the dog in Medford on July 14. The dog owner was located. She claimed she was about to report her dog missing. The officer asked her what happened. She said she unloaded her car and noticed her dog wasn’t there. The officer informed her the Belmont Police received reports the dog was thrown out the car window on Pleasant Street. Her emotion did not change, and she didn’t deny throwing the dog out the window. She said he must have jumped out the window that was only open a couple of inches /she said he was making a lot of noise in the back seat and then suddenly stopped, and she assumed he settled. While officers were there, she made a phone call to an unknown party and said the police knew about the Medford incident. The dog was transported to Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. Officers informed the owner, and she asked when she could pick the dog up. She did not ask if the dog had any injuries. The doctor at Angell Memorial took custody of the dog and said the dog would not be released to the owner until their MSPCA team was consulted. The MSPCA officers would discuss the situation with the Belmont Police and file the appropriate charges.

11:52 p.m.: A woman housesitting for her parents’ home on Goden Street reported vandalism. She heard a loud crash and thought she heard someone in the house. She discovered the front screen door glass was shattered and heard a vehicle drive off. She didn’t see anyone or observe the vehicle. She waited in her vehicle until units arrived. She said there was a sign that said, “Belmont Welcomes All,” on the front lawn that was no longer there. She is unaware of any reasons why her parents could be targeted. A metal pipe was found next to the front steps, which she believes was used to damage the door. Belmont Police said they would do extra checks in the area and to make sure all her doors are locked.

Tuesday, July 22

12:57 p.m.: A Golf ball struck a male in the head at 415 Belmont St. The victim said he was riding his bike on the sidewalk in front of 415 Belmont St. when he was struck by a golf ball from Oakley Country Club across the street. The golf ball was sitting in the grass next to the fence. He had a helmet on. There was damage to the front of his helmet valued at $150 as well as a scrape on his forehead. He declined medical attention. He said he would like to be reimbursed from Oakley for his helmet

1:59 p.m.: A Louise Road resident reported vandalism to her property. This morning, she found two signs deliberately ripped in half. One was a Black Lives Matter sign, and the other was Belmont Welcomes LGBTQ residents.

2 p.m.: A Belmont woman reported flowers from her cousin’s gravestone were ripped out of the ground. She could not locate them in the vicinity or trashcans and reported theft to the staff.

3 p.m.: Officers received a call about an out-of-control group home client on Hull Street who slashed a vehicle’s tires and may be armed with a straight edge weapon. Officers spoke with the client who said he used a fork to slash the tire and was not in possession of a straight edge weapon. He was ranting about western society poisoning him. He was transported to Mount Auburn Hospital by Belmont Rescue. An employee of the group home showed officers her tire that was completely flat. The staff had video showing the client carrying a white and blue bag and stopping at the vehicle, putting the bag on the ground, reaching into his pocket. The video then shows him leaning down and pressing something in his right hand into the driver’s side rear tire. He then puts the item from is right hand into the white bag, picks up the bag and continues walking. He will be charged with malicious damage to a motor vehicle.

4:38 p.m.: The manager of CVS on Trapelo Road reported shoplifting.  An unknown customer stole several items from the facial care section of the store and quickly left. Surveillance video shows a bald-headed light skin male with a beard, wearing a tan shirt, grey sweatpants, white shoes and glasses. He was in the store for a total of nine minutes. He walked through the skin care aisle several times. Her circled back several minutes later and began to take several items off the top shelves. He then went to the parking lot and drove away.

5:30 p.m.: Hit and run in front of the Learning Zone, 279 Belmont St. The vehicle was parked parallel to the building and not in a marked parking space. There was moderate damage to the left side of the vehicle.

Wednesday, July 23

8:02 a.m.: A roll-over crash at the intersection of Belmont and Poplar Streets between a 2015 Nissan operated by a Boston resident and a 2021 Subaru operated by a Saugus resident. The Nissan was turned over on its driver’s side. The driver climbed to the rear of the vehicle and out to the roadway. The vehicle had sustained significant damage to its front end, front windshield and passenger side doors. The front airbags deployed. The operator said she was driving on Poplar Street in Watertown approaching the stop sign at the intersection of Poplar and Belmont Streets. She came to a full stop and then began to merge into traffic. When she proceeded, the passenger side of her vehicle was struck, and she crashed into the Subaru. She said when she crashed, she turned her wheel as hard as she possibly could to try to straighten out her vehicle, which is when it turned on its driver’s side and rotated 180 degrees. Her left shoulder was in pain, and she had visible marks on her neck from her seatbelt tightening up during the crash. Both individuals were evaluated. The operator of the Nissan was transported to Mount Auburn Hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. The operator of the Subaru said he was driving 25 miles per hour. He tried to stop before hitting the Nissan but did not see it on time. Both vehicles were towed. The operator of the Nissan was issued a citation for failure to yield right of way intersection.

11:10 a.m.: An Emerson Street resident reported two front lawn signs in her yard were destroyed while she was on vacation. One was a Black Lives Matter sign, and the other was a Welcome to Belmont sign. Pieces of the sign were found in the area. The signs are valued at $5 each.

1:42 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported check fraud. He mailed a check in a box on Pleasant Street near the Shell station. It was made out to BJ’s in the amount of $572.78. and linked to Rockland Trust. After mailing the check, he received emails from B’s claiming the charge was not paid. He went to Rockland Trust on Concord Avenue and discovered the check was washed. The name on the check was changed and the amount was altered to $12,000.

Belmont Police responded to three mental health calls July 19-24, 2025.