Belmont Police Log, Dec. 19-24: Suspicious male at Beth El Temple, suspicious footprints on Burnham Street, car broken into on Clover Street 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, Dec. 19

11:10 a.m.: A Hillside Terrace resident reported receiving a suspicious package containing an item she did not order at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18. She wrote a check for $46.46 and mailed it to the UPS store for a package she may have forgotten to pay for. When she opened the package, inside was an empty box and she was aware she may have been scammed. When she realized it was a scam, she cancelled her check and did not have any money taken out of her bank. She also updated her bank about the incident, canceled her old account and made a new account. She was advised to contact the police if she receives any more unusual packages.

Saturday, Dec. 20

11:53 a.m.: A Belmont woman reported two students walking together on Slade Street. One of them threw what appeared to be a rock on the top of her car. Her dashcam recorded the incident. IT shows two white males, one taller than the other. The shorter white male was wearing a black backpack, a hat, a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. He was holding his white jacket. The taller male was wearing a green hoodie, blue jeans and white sneakers. The shorter male appears to throw something at the woman’s vehicle.

11:57 a.m.: A Davis Road resident reported his mother-in-law left a bag full of groceries outside on the curb and a neighbor took them by mistake thinking they were free. Later she realized she put an iPad in her grocery bags and couldn’t find it after retrieving them from the neighbor. A police officer spoke to the neighbor on Waverley Street. He said there was no iPad in the grocery bags when he took them. The daughter also said she didn’t see any iPad in the bags. The bags were left on the curb for approximately 20 minutes and the mother-in-law believes someone else must have take the iPad. They had no identifying information for the iPad. They tried to search for it using find my iPhone, but the location was turned off.

10:05 p.m.: A Belmont business on Trapelo Road was concerned about a suspicious person who was going by his stored.

Sunday, Dec. 21

9:40 a.m.: A Belmont resident reported he was a victim of identity theft that began about a year ago. Yesterday, he discovered someone hacked into his TransUnion account and changed all of his passwords, email address and phone number. He contacted TransUnion to assist him in securing his account and was advised to monitor his credit report and contact the police if he notices anything suspicious.

Monday, Dec. 22

11:09 a.m.: A Belmont resident reported a past hit and run on Dec. 21. He parked in the rear lot of Dunkin, 350 Pleasant St., along the rear fence in a designated parking space. When he returned, he found a note on the front windshield along with damage to the rear passenger side. The note, from an unknown individual, stated at approximately 3:30 p.m., they saw a white Toyota back out form a perpendicular parking spot and hit the rear quarter panel of his vehicle. The note continued stating that a third vehicle, a red Hyundai also backed into the vehicle, colliding with the rear bumper. The owners of the offending vehicles were identified via a CJIS query. He was advised to contact his insurance company.

11:40 a.m.: Beth El Temple reported a suspicious individual tried to enter the temple from the front doors that are locked and unused. The individual, described as a white male in his 20s, made his way into the building from the rear to ask the staff questions. Both staff members said the individual had a disheveled appearance with a ripped flannel long sleeve and was wearing socks over his pants. The individual asked one of the staff members several questions, which she found odd. He asked how many non-Jewish members they had as well as if he could look at their photo albums. The other staff member said she spoke with the individual who then took one of every informational pamphlet before asking if he could have a copy of the Hebrew bible. She said she could not give him one and directed him outside to a communal book rack. The individual spent some time at the book rack before leaving. The individual then continued to look around the property before getting in a black sedan in the parking lot. Officers found a black sedan idling in the rear of the lot, but it was not involved. A staff member observed the individual walk into Cambridge on camera footage.

Tuesday, Dec. 23

11:01 a.m.: Officers responded to a dispute on Belmont Street where there is an active Harassment Prevention Order the tenant has against the landlord. The landlord is required to give the tenant 24 hours notice before visiting the property. He was supposed to arraive at 10 a.m., instead he arrived at 11 a.m. and she could no longer stay at the house because she had errands. He wouldn’t move his vehicle out of the driveway so she could get out. Officers informed the landlord, due to the time discrepancy, he could not go in the house and should file a complaint through the court. He said he understood and got back into his car. Shortly after the police left, the landlord returned to the driveway and took pictures of the house.

Wednesday, Dec. 24

5:30 a.m.: A Burnham Street resident reported suspicious activity. At approximately 4:30 a.m., he went outside to shovel. He noticed footprints along the sidewalk, which stopped at the end of his driveway. The footprints went up his driveway approximately 100 feet before going to the rear of the house and ending at their trash barrel. Both he and his mother were concerned as neither of them were outside near the barrel this morning. They did not see or hear anything unusual throughout the night. The footprints appeared to be fresh. Officers searched the area and did not observe any signs of forced entry into the residence or anything unusual in the trash barrel. They were advised to call back if they notice anything else.

8:42 a.m.: A Clover Street resident reported her vehicle broken into and $480 was stolen from the center console. Her second vehicle was also rummaged through but nothing appeared to be taken. The vehicles were parked in her driveway overnight. Both were unlocked. She is asking neighbors if their surveillance cameras caught anything and will notify the police if they do. She was advised to lock her vehicles at all times when they are not in use.

11:47 a.m.: A Fletcher Road resident reported his black trash barrel provided by the town of Belmont was missing.

Belmont Police responded to six domestic and three mental health calls, Dec. 19-25, 2025.