Belmont Police Log, April 18-30: Checks found on street, threatening texts and trespassing

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 18

12:55 p.m.: A Waltham resident reported receiving threatening text messages from an unfamiliar number (561-546-8679) for the past three to four days. It started off with phone calls, then turned into text messages with photos of a severed body and a firearm. The messages demand $1,500 or he and his family will be harmed. He explained the messages state he owes money for not showing up to a massage appointment. On occasion he will get massages and admitted to contacting several businesses in the past. However, he does not remember which ones. He does not know who the messages are coming from and wanted this incident to be documented. He does not believe these threats have any validity and it’s an attempt to defraud him. The police officer attempted to contact the phone number in question with no results.

7:43 p.m.: A damaged vehicle was reported on Woods Road. A 2006 Lexus was parked on the street. Sometime between 6 p.m. and 7:43 p.m., the owner’s rear window was shattered. There was no foreign object observed in the rear of the vehicle that may have been used to smash the rear tailgate window. Nothing from the vehicle was missing. Ring camera footage from a nearby hoe will be reviewed.

Monday, April 20

11:31 a.m.: A woman in the area of Alexander Avenue and Farm Road noticed numerous checks scattered about the area made out to several residents in the area. Belmont Police attempted to contact one of the residents whose name was on several checks but was unsuccessful. Belmont Police went to the home of another resident whose name was on one of the checks. She said she mailed the check made out to Mass Audubon for $70 inside the USPS mailbox located on the corner of Brighton street and Eliot Road yesterday at 3 p.m.  Twenty checks were bagged and placed in an evidence locker.

Tuesday, April 21

10:28 a.m.: A woman who was house sitting for residents on Hurd Road overnight noticed damage to her 2014 Ford that was parked in the driveway and a door cracked open. The front driver’s door handle was damaged. The key cover to the door handle was removed from the vehicle and not located on the property. The woman noticed the front passenger side door was cracked this morning. Nothing is missing at this time. She believes her vehicle was locked. Houses in the surrounding area did not have security cameras.

Wednesday, April 22

7:04 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported a fraudulent transaction on her Cash App account for $500. She reached out to the Cash App customer service to dispute the unauthorized transaction. They said she needed to file a dispute with them, which she did numerous times. They informed her that they dd not receive the dispute. The Cash App customer service informed her she had credited back the money, but it was not in her file.

Sunday, April 26

10:07 a.m.: Vandalism reported to a motor vehicle on Jeanette Avenue. At 6 a.m., she heard the car alarm go off. When her husband went out to check the car, he noticed the hood was popped open slightly. Noone was in the area and nothing else in the car was disturbed. The car was locked. Yesterday, she took the car in for service, and they informed her that a molding trim piece on her windshield by her hood was missing or broken off. She was unsure when this happened or if the incidents were connected. She was away for the holiday weekend and wasn’t sure if something happened then. There are no surveillance cameras in the area.

6:36 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported a hit and run. His wife parked her Volvo on Summit Road. When she arrived home, they observed damage to the rear bumper of the vehicle.

Tuesday, April 28

4:39 p.m.: A Belmont resident reported a hit and run. His wife’s vehicle was parked on Concord Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. When she returned, she noticed a dent in the rear bumper that was not there in the morning.

Wednesday, April 29

10:41 a.m.: Suspicious package reported at Town Hall inside the foyer of the main entrance. Belmont Police observed a black plastic bag, approximately the size of a basketball that was zip-tied on the top of the bag. It was sitting on the floor on the left side of the foyer. Belmont Fire chief arrived on the scene to assist. The fire alarm was pulled and the building was evacuated. Two Cambridge Polce bomb dogs arrived on the scene with negative results for a possible bomb. When it was determined to be safe, the bag was opened. I was discovered to be a bag of sand.

12:10 p.m.: A man reported an issue with a technology repair company in Belmont doing work on his iPhone and laptop. They told him they needed more money to fix his electronics than the original price. He tried contacting the company, but they haven’t been in touch lately. He tried to get his electronics back, even though they were never repaired properly. As of now, he said he spent $3,500 the repairs but couldn’t provide proof of payment. The business refused to give his electronics back, so he called the police. The police spoke to the staff at the business and they agreed to give the electronics back.

12:22 p.m.: A Belmont resident said she applied for Canadian passports for her and her son through the website, North Claim, which she discovered through Facebook. She called North Claim and spoke with several different people who asked her to provide photos of passports and birth certificates for her and her child, which she did. A representative from the company offered her a deal where they would only charge $3,000 for both passports, instead of their standard fee of $3,000 per passport. She provided North Claim with her Wells Fargo debit card. He withdrew the agreed upon amount of $1,000. She did not know when the next installment was scheduled to be withdrawn. She was advised to cancel her debit card and provide her contact information to all three credit bureaus.

5:42 p.m.: Threats reported on Fairview Avenue by Newton Street. A man said she was canvassing for Amnesty International in the neighborhood with a friend. While he was walking on the sidewalk on Newton Street by Belmont Street, he saw a woman pushing a baby in a stroller and stepped away to let her pass. Someone honked their horn, but he did not hear. When he stepped back onto the sidewalk, the middle-aged white woman with brown hair, wearing a blue shirt, driving a blue Subaru parked where he was standing. The woman rolled down the window and said, “This is why people like you get shot.” She exited the vehicle and entered into a store on Belmont Street. He continued to canvas until he decided he should report the incident to the police. He did not obtain a license plate. Officers searched the area but were not able to locate a blue Subaru.

Thursday, April 30

7:01 a.m.: Officers responded to a hit and run on Trapelo Road that damaged the driver’s side mirror of a Mack Waste Management garbage truck. The driver said he was picking up trash barrels when the side mirror was struck by a passing truck, which he believes was a red Ford pick-up truck. It struck him and continued driving down Trapelo Road. There is likely video of the incident on the vehicle’s camera.

8:58 a.m.: A Belmont man said he received a call from a blocked number, stating someone spent $3,000 with a Walmart credit card under his name. He doesn’t have a Walmart account and is worried the call is related to past fraud he was a victim of in October. The caller had an Indian accent. She provided him with a case number from the Social Security office. He was advised to go to the Social Security office and monitor his bank accounts.

12:13 p.m.: The owner of a two-family home on Drew Road said he parked his car on Slade Street. When he returned, he observed damage to the driver’s side door and believes it was one of the two Tesla’s leaving the driveway this morning. There were no Ring cameras in the aera.

6:10 p.m.: Trespassing reported on Marsh Street where a home is for sale. The homeowner said she was informed that a person was seen in her backyard with their belongings. Officers searched the property and observed nothing. There was an empty bottle of Old Spice body wash found on the rear porch. The alarm was on inside the home that’s for sale.

Belmont Police responded to three mental health calls April 16-30.