Dedham Police: License Plates Stolen; Multiple Shoplifters Reported

Tuesday, Sept. 30

At about 2:20 p.m., Dedham police responded to 600 Providence Hwy. on a report of a stolen license plate. Upon arrival officers spoke with a caller who said he had brought a trailer to work in order to sell it that day. When the caller arrived at work that morning he saw the license plate had been removed, as well as the plate bracket, when he met the buyer around 12:30 p.m. Police entered the plate as stolen.

At 5:15 p.m., police received a report of possible credit card fraud. A local woman told police she was the joint holder of a checking account with her daughter and that the daughter has been studying abroad, and noticed six debit charges at various stores and locations in the state of Illinois. The woman was advised to cancel the debit card and contact her bank.

At 6:52 p.m., police responded to Old Navy on a report of shoplifting. Upon arrival, officers spoke with Loss Prevention staff who said she had been dealing with an ongoing shoplifting problem at the store and that two suspects had been previously observed stealing. The suspects were described as two black females aged about 25 years, who entered the store that night and were seen walking around placing items into shopping bags. The suspects reportedly entered the changing room and concealed all of their merchandise prior to exiting the store. When staff approached one of the females the suspect began yelling at her and pushed a baby carriage into her legs, after which she left the store. The staff was notified to contact police when the suspects return.

At 7:15 p.m., police received a report of a phone scam on Great Meadow Road. Officers spoke with a victim who claimed she received a phone call from a restricted number and that the person on the phone was crying, claiming to be her granddaughter living in New York and that she had been involved in a car accident, arrested and needed to be released. The victim reportedly wired money from Western Union, and provided police a copy of the receipt which showed the tracking number and the receiver location being Lebanon. After returning home, the victim reportedly received a call from someone claiming to be a court-appointed attorney who claimed to work out of the municipal court in New York City who told the victim that bail had increased and then she wired money from Western Union. That receipt also showed a receiving location as being in Lebanon. The victim then contacted family members who informed her that her granddaughter was not involved in an accident nor arrested. She was advised to contact New Bridge Security so they could make other residents aware of the scam.

At 10:40 p.m., police responded to Legacy Place on a report of a vehicle being entered. Officers responded to the Met Bar to speak with a caller, who said that he parked his vehicle on the second-floor parking garage around 4 p.m., and when he left work from the Met Bar, he walked to his vehicle and saw items had been tossed about the vehicle. The vehicle was reportedly unlocked at the time, and that the only thing missing was a small “art box” containing a school project. No damage was reported.

Wednesday, Oct. 1

At 11 a.m., Dedham Animal Control responded to a home on High Street on a report of a dog being left out all night with no water available for the animal. The Animal Control Officer spoke with the dog’s owner who told the officer he believed the dog had been inside and suggested a child in the home tied the dog out back when they went to school. The officer also noted that the dog was not licensed and had been out in the rain for at least three hours and spoke with the owner about state laws regarding the care of dogs. The owner brought the animal inside and was directed to keep the dog indoors except to be walked.

At 1 p.m., police received a report of a possible mail scam in which a local man received a letter in the mail from U.S. Airlines informing him he qualified for two free round-trip tickets. He believed the letter to be a scam as it looked unprofessional, according to police records.

At 2:08 p.m., police responded to the area of Washington Street and Incinerator Road for a report of a vehicle into a pole. Officers identified the occupants and determine one had a possible injury. The passenger of the vehicle, Michael Jones, was arrested on a warrant out of Roxbury District Court.

Thursday, Oct. 2

At 5:03 p.m., police responded to Ocean State Job Lot on Providence Highway on a report of past shoplifting. Staff at the store told police that a man had loaded up a shopping cart with clothing and then walked out of the store without paying for the items. The man left the store and then moved toward the Boston line, where a camera on the road lost sight of him. Staff planned to produce a video of the entire incident as well as a photo of the suspect.

Friday, Oct. 3

At 12:22 p.m., police received a report of fraudulent charges being made with a local resident’s bank card. The victim told police that for two months there had been random charges on his account that he did not make; a majority of the purchases were made online. The bank had reportedly planned to refund the purchases. A withdrawal was also made with the card at an ATM in Dedham, though the victim told police that he rarely withdrew cash from another bank’s ATM to avoid fees and that he never lost or misplaced his card.

At 3:19 p.m., police responded to Tuesday Morning on a report that a man had left the store with a comforter valued at $100, then entered a Toyota Tacoma with New Hampshire plates and drove off. Police sought a complaint of larceny of less than $250.

At 4 p.m., police responded to Ocean State Job Lot on a report of a shoplifter who had taken a carriage full of items and fled the store. The suspect was reportedly wearing a black jacket and fled behind the store and onto a path that ran behind the building. Office searched the area but were unable to find the suspect, and staff at the store did not have a clear account of what had been taken. The matter is under investigation.

Saturday, Oct. 4

At 5:40 p.m., a caller reported to police of a phone scam involving two separate phone calls from anonymous numbers in regards to a local resident winning $5 million. The resident told police he believed it to be a scam, as he had not entered into any contests and that the caller was uninformative to information regarding the winnings. During another call, the caller told the resident they had been calling from the FBI and accused the resident of filing a false police report in regards to his winnings. No information regarding the caller, phone number, name or company had been provided.

Sunday, Oct. 5

At 1:05 a.m., police had been monitoring a crowd exiting Mosley’s on the Charles, where a concert had taken place that evening. Officers observed a large crowd of patrons yelling at one another and begin pushing each other, after which officers entered the crowd and dispersed the individuals. No incident was reported during the concert, which saw nearly 750 in attendance, according to police records.

At 5:43 p.m., police responded to Sears on a report of shoplifting. Loss Prevention told police that two men had walked around the store and entered the tool area, where they began browsing the merchandise. The two then allegedly removed several wrenches and sockets and began to remove them from their packaging. The two suspects were seen putting the tools into their jacket and pant pockets; once they removed the tools and concealed them, they tried to leave the store. Loss Prevention staff then confronted the men, escorted them back to the Loss Prevention office. The value of the items totaled about $246. Both men were advised they were not allowed back into the store and a criminal complaint was sought against them.

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