Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Thursday, March 16 through Thursday, March 23, 2023. Consistent with state law, Marblehead Police have adopted a policy of not providing to media outlets reports related to incidents related to domestic violence, juveniles and matters that remain under investigation.
Thursday, March 16
9:02 a.m. An officer spoke by phone to a Kenneth Road resident who had recently received a voicemail that she believed had been a scam. She reported that an unknown person claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House informed her that she had won a prize of $5,000 a week for life. The woman knew it was a scam and ignored the message but wanted to report it to the police.
9:47 a.m. A power outage was reported on Glover Square.
10:48 a.m. An officer spoke in the station lobby with a woman who had recently found out that she had mistakenly used a fraudulent website to apply to obtain a new Social Security card. The woman had completed the form, which asked for all of her personal information, and she also had included a $44 payment. Since learning that the web site was fraudulent, she had canceled her compromised credit card and contacted the three credit agencies. The woman was advised to let the police know if she had any other issues.
11:04 a.m. An officer spoke at the station with a woman who had received a call earlier in the day from an individual claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House, who told her that she won $8.5 million. The shocked woman gave the caller some personal identifying information, including her date of birth and that she is a customer of Marblehead Bank, before ending the call, having come to the realization that it might be a scam. The woman said that she would talk to the bank about the incident and continue to monitor her credit.
11:06 a.m. An officer spoke at the station with a man who had received a phone call from a person purporting to be a public defender in New York, claiming that his nephew was under arrest in Boston and he needed to provide bail money. After a brief discussion of the facts surrounding this incident, the officer determined that he knew who his nephew was and had seen the nephew only a short time earlier and knew he was not in Boston Police custody. Satisfied, the man left the station.
12:34 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a woman who had discovered approximately 10 fraudulent charges on her Citizens Bank debit card, though she could not immediately access the exact dates or transaction amounts while we spoke. She stated that she had already contacted the bank, and they had canceled her compromised debit card and told her she would be reimbursed for $661 for the fraudulent charges. The bank employee had asked the woman to report the fraud to the police as well. The officer advised the woman to report any additional fraud and to check her account daily. She was advised to monitor her credit report and to place a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus. The officer also gave the woman the information for reporting identity fraud to the Federal Trade Commission. The officer also instructed the woman to call back if she could identify the exact dates and amounts of the fraudulent transactions.
3:06 p.m. An officer took a report of harassment over the phone and filed a report.
6:30 p.m. A walk-in to the police station brought in sunglasses that had been found on Atlantic Avenue.
10:11 p.m. A caller reported having lost an iPhone on School Street.
Friday, March 17
3:06 a.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on West Shore Drive and Evans Road but could not find it.
9:44 a.m. A 28-year-old Everett resident was arrested on an outstanding out-of-town warrant after a traffic stop on Darling Street.
1:22 p.m. A caller reported having lost money on Pleasant Street.
9:20 p.m. An officer investigated a disturbance reported on Walnut Street.
Saturday, March 18
8:42 a.m. A driver was given a verbal warning for a red-light violation on Pleasant Street.
9:55 a.m. A driver was given a verbal warning for a red-light violation on Devereux Street.
1:28 p.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Front Street and filed a report.
1:55 p.m. Officers assisted in the investigation of the activation of a fire master box alarm on Turner Road and filed a report.
10:07 p.m. Officers investigated a vehicle crash reported on Lighthouse Lane.
Sunday, March 19
11:03 a.m. A dead skunk was reported in the road on Village Street.
2:01 p.m. Officers issued a citation after a traffic stop on Humphrey and Cedar streets and also filed a report.
5:53 p.m. An officer investigated a report that a stop sign was lying in the road on Lafayette and Pleasant streets.
10:17 p.m. An officer assisted at the scene of a cracked boiler on Cliff Street.
Monday, March 20
6:36 a.m. An officer investigated a report of vandalism on Roundhouse Road and filed a report.
10:04 a.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Lafayette Street and filed a report.
11:47 a.m. Officers investigated a report of water jugs in the road on Smith and Pleasant streets but could not find them.
3:16 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance reported on Barnard Street and filed a report.
6:14 p.m. An officer met in the station with a man who reported that he was the victim of fraud. The man explained that he had recently moved from Pennsylvania to Marblehead and had received a bill from Optimum Cable collections department for about $1,000. The man said he had never lived in New York or had cable service from Optimum. The man had reported this information to the company’s fraud department and had been told to file a police report. The man was advised to report the possible case of identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission as well as through the state’s website, mass.gov.
6:24 p.m. Suspicious activity was reported on Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street.
8 p.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Creesy Street and filed a report.
Tuesday, March 21
8:59 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Farrell Court to investigate a report of a possible squatter in a Marblehead Housing Authority residence. The officer was told the named tenant on the lease was in the hospital. The Housing Authority and police were familiar with the squatter and were aware that the tenant there had let her stay over in the past. After the officer knocked on the door but before anyone could speak to her, the squatter immediately told the Housing Authority that she was going to leave, which satisfied the Housing Authority. The officer informed the staff that a report would be on file for their records and that they could contact the police again if the squatter failed to follow through on her promise to leave.
12:09 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a man who explained that he was in the process of negotiating the purchase of an outboard engine from a shop in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was communicating with a particular email address, and his mechanic recommended that he finalize payment so that he could take advantage of an expiring extended warranty offer. The man had agreed and wrote a check for the remainder of $6,000 and mailed it to the dealership. The following day, the man received an email from a similar email address but with an extra “r” on the end of it, explaining that a wire transfer would be better so that they were sure that they
did not miss the extended warranty offer. The man wired the $6,000 to the individual from his Citizens bank account. A few days later, while speaking with his mechanic about the installation of the new outboard, the man made reference to the now-voided check and the wire transfer. The mechanic had no idea what the man was talking about, and both later learned that the company email had been hacked. The man explained he was in the process of trying to reverse the wire transfer with his bank. The officer shared the information with detectives.
4:21 p.m. An officer spoke with a walk-in to the police station who reported that someone had made a claim for unemployment in his name. The man had received a Visa card in the mail to
make withdrawals from an account, which he had immediately reported to his company and the bank from which he had received the card. The bank had put a stop on the account, and the man planned to shred the card. The officer advised him to monitor his credit, which he told the officer had not been affected.
6:32 p.m. Officers investigated a report of an intoxicated man on Pleasant Street.
7:38 p.m. An officer received general information on Creesy Street and filed a report.
Wednesday, March 22
11 a.m. An officer took a report over the phone about the theft of an Amazon package containing about $200 worth of decorations on Pleasant Street. The intended recipient had gotten a notification that the package had been delivered on March 12, but the accompanying photograph did not look like her home. She had asked her neighbors if they had received the package by mistake, but they said they had not. The woman asked that the officer write a report so that she could send it to Amazon. Detectives were also notified about the incident.
12:18 p.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby with a man who had ordered a Dell laptop directly from the company’s website. The man said that he had received a tracking email for the shipment, which stated the package had been delivered to his home at 12:56 p.m. on March 20. The man stated that there were no packages at the home, so he checked his home’s security camera system and found no evidence of any deliveries having been made to his home all day. The man said that he had contacted Dell customer service, and they requested he report the missing package to the police. As of March 22, the package had still not been delivered.
3:49 p.m. Larceny, forgery or fraud was reported on Hines Court.
4:13 p.m. Officers investigated a report of a man threatening a child on Jersey Street and filed a report.
5:34 p.m. A laser level was found on Tedesco Street and Leggs Hill Road.
Thursday, March 23
7:52 a.m. A possible downed limb was reported on Atlantic Avenue.
9:18 a.m. An issue related to construction equipment was reported on Conant Road and Winthrop Avenue.
10:03 a.m. An officer assisted a Green Street Court resident and filed a report.
4:11 p.m. An officer investigated a disturbance reported on Front Street but could not locate its source.
6:01 p.m. Lights on flash reported on Ocean and Atlantic avenues.
9:06 p.m. An officer restored the peace after a disturbance was reported on Farrell Court.
