Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Thursday, April 13 through Tuesday, April 18, 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, April 13
10:26 a.m. An officer investigated a report of vandalism on Brook Road and filed a report.
3:20 p.m. An officer investigated a report of a person receiving unwanted attention on Farrell Court.
5:47 p.m. Officers investigated the report of a driver with road rage on Washington and Pleasant streets but could not locate the vehicle.
Friday, April 14
8:06 a.m. An officer spoke with a crossing guard who had been working at the intersection of West Shore Drive and Jersey Street when what he believed to be a gray Tesla sedan did not stop while he was crossing the street with two children. The officer asked if the crossing guard knew the plate of the vehicle that failed to stop, and he stated that he did not. The crossing guard further noted that there is not enough signage to alert drivers heading outbound on West Shore Drive to the crosswalk. The crossing guard suggested that more signage would help improve safety for those in the area. (See letter to the editor from the crossing guard elsewhere in this week’s edition of the Current.)
8:33 a.m. An officer responded to the Devereux Beach to retrieve a wallet and a suitcase that a man had found near a play structure in the playground. The officer retrieved the items and brought them back to the station, where he turned them over to a detective for his review.
12:12 p.m. A “doggie” was found on Ocean Avenue.
12:32 p.m. Officers went to Pitman Road to take a report from a woman who said she was being harassed by a neighbor who was constantly falsely reporting to police that the woman was obstructing the road by intentionally pushing rocks on the edge of her property into the road. The woman was advised that if she feels she is being harassed, she should proceed to Lynn District Court to file for a harassment prevention order.
1:23 p.m. Officers investigated the report of a hit-and-run on Essex Street.
2:41 p.m. An officer investigated a report concerning phone calls on Overlook Road.
2:57 p.m. An officer investigated a report of a hot dog on Ocean Avenue.
9:09 p.m. Officers restored the peace after a disturbance was reported on Ocean Avenue.
9:33 p.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Pleasant Street and Ocean Avenue but could not locate it.
10 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Phillips Street.
10:19 p.m. Officers took a 42-year-old man into protective custody after they were called to investigate a disturbance on Green Street.
11:02 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Pickwick Road and restored the peace.
11:14 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Trager Road.
Saturday, April 15
5:48 a.m. An officer met at the station with a man who reported that over the last month or so as he has attempted to enter his pickup truck in the morning, he has observed human spit or saliva on the driver’s side door and handle of his vehicle each and every day. The man said he parks his vehicle in front of his residence on West Shore Drive in a lawful parking spot every day. Over the last few days, the man had been able to narrow down the time of expectoration to between 5:18 and 5:30 a.m. Approximately three days earlier, the man decided to set up a spit sting by sitting in his vehicle at the appointed time. He observed an older gentleman walk towards his vehicle, but the older man did not spit because the vehicle owner startled him, he believed. The man in the station had also observed the same gentleman two days earlier while he was taking out the trash. Although the man in the station did not observe the older gentleman spit on his vehicle, he recognized the gentleman as the same man from the previous day. After the gentleman walked past the younger man’s vehicle, he observed that his vehicle had been spat on. So, the younger man reprised the sting, this time reclining the seat all the way back so that he could lie flat. At approximately 5:30 a.m., the man observed the same older gentleman approach his vehicle and spit on the driver’s side door. The man exited his vehicle and began recording the older gentleman with his phone, following him for a few seconds inbound on West Shore Drive while asking him why he was spitting on his vehicle. The older gentleman did not respond. The man went back to his home and discussed the incident with his spouse, and they
decided that it was best to report these incidents to the police. Before he came to the station, the man had driven inbound on West Shore Drive, verbally confronted the older gentleman near Waterside Cemetery and demanded that he not spit on his car again. The man said that the older gentleman did not respond. The officer discussed this interview with a detective who followed up, locating the older man in the area of West Shore Drive and Lorraine
Terrace at about 5:15 a.m. The detective then parked on Village Street and approached the man, asking to speak with him, but the man ignored his request and kept walking. The detective then drove to where he believed the man lived, and after about 10 minutes, the older man approached. The detective got out of his car and again identified himself as a police officer. This time, the man stopped and spoke to him. The man claimed that he had only spat on the truck once and that it had been an accident. The officer told the man that the police were aware that it had happened several times. The detective again asked why the man was spitting, and he did not reply. The detective told him that he assumed the man was upset that the vehicle was parked on the street, and he may have felt it impeded his walk. The detective asked that he not spit on the truck again, lest criminal charges be taken out against him. The man vowed that it would not happen again. The detective planned to contact the victim and update him on the exchange.
11:25 a.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Stramski Way.
1:12 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Rockaway Avenue to investigate a report of damage to a vehicle. The vehicle’s owner told the officer that at some point over the past few hours, the rear windshield of her vehicle had been damaged. The officer inspected the rear windshield, which had virtually no glass left in it and glass all over the street. The officer believed that the damage had been caused by some sort of projectile, which he could not locate. He radioed dispatch to ask the Highway Department to come clean up the glass, as it was all over the sidewalk and street, creating unsafe conditions.
6:52 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle crash on Atlantic Avenue.
9:26 p.m. An officer was dispatched to the area of Beacon Street by the Gerry 5 to investigate the report of an intoxicated woman who was walking down Beacon Street towards Grace Oliver Beach. About halfway down Beacon Street, he located the woman stumbling inbound on the side of the roadway. He exited his cruiser and Identified himself, and the woman identified herself. The officer had the woman sit on a rock wall on the side of the roadway as he was worried that she would fall and hurt herself. The woman told the officer that she was coming from the Gerry 5 and had lost her cell phone during a recent fall and did not want to go anywhere until it was found. After another officer arrived on scene, the first officer had the dispatcher call the woman’s cellphone, and it began to ring about 30 feet away. The woman then told the officer that her roommate was home. The woman called her roommate, and the officer brought him up to speed. The officer got permission from the officer-in-charge to drive the woman home, where she was left in the custody of her roommate.
Sunday, April 16
1:32 p.m. An officer searched for a vehicle with Maine license plates being driven erratically on Ocean Avenue but could not locate it.
2:02 p.m. Officers were told to be on the lookout for a vehicle coming into town from Salem that was believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run. The vehicle came back to a resident of Rockaway Avenue, so one officer made his way there and found the vehicle parked on the road near the home. The officer spoke with a man and asked him if he had just been in Salem, and the man said that he had. Unprompted, the man offered that while in Salem he had observed a man next to a wheelchair in the road, but he did not believe that he had struck the man in the wheelchair. He said that he had stopped his vehicle next to the man and helped him up. He said that he asked the man if he needed any help, and the man said “no” and rode away. At that point, the man, who had a small child in the car, got back in and drove home. Officers observed some minor damage to the front passenger tire rim, but the man said that was pre-existing damage caused by his wife striking a curb in the past. The officers also saw what looked like old damage to the center front area of the bumper. Salem Police then reported that it had not located the man in the wheelchair. The officer instructed the man to contact Salem Police, and the man said he would.
2:19 p.m. An officer spoke at the station with a woman who had received a “robocall,” purportedly from National Grand Bank. The woman called back the number and provided her zip code to an automated answering service. The officer called the number and was unable to speak with anyone or identify what company it was. The officer advised the woman to call National Grand Bank when they reopened and inform them of the call and to check her account for any fraudulent activity.
8:42 p.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Pleasant Street.
11:12 p.m. An officer investigated a report of threats on Washington Street and filed a report.
Monday, April 17
12:01 a.m. An officer investigated a general complaint on Washington Street and filed a report.
9:15 a.m. An officer assisted a citizen on Bubier Road and filed a report.
11:29 a.m. An officer met at the station with a man who had experienced two different incidents over the weekend where youths rang his doorbell and ran off. The man showed the officer a video of the incidents, from which the officer captured screen shots and included them in his report.
1:49 p.m. Officers assisted at the scene of a vehicle crash on Barnard Street and Atlantic Avenue. The log indicates that at least one vehicle had to be towed and at least one person was transported to the hospital with unspecified injuries.
10:24 p.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Atlantic Avenue.
11:28 p.m. Officers were dispatched to Reed Street to investigate a report of a person knocking on the back door of the house. Upon his arrival, one of the officers did not see anyone in the front of the house. He then went along the driveway and towards the back of the house but did not find anyone in the back of the house. Other officers assisted with the search. The officer then spoke with the caller, who was house sitting. She explained that at approximately 11:30 p.m. she had heard something banging on the sliding door located at the back of the house while she was awake watching television on the couch. She then immediately called the police. She explained that the same thing had happened the previous at approximately the same time. She was advised to make sure to lock all the doors and to immediately contact the police if it happened again. The woman explained that she had been in contact with the homeowner about these incidents.
Tuesday, April 18
8:18 a.m. A suspicious car was reported in a driveway on West Orchard Street.
8:28 a.m. An officer investigated a report of a hit-and-run on West Orchard Street.
8:57 a.m. An officer spoke with a Lincoln Park resident about a possible scam. The man explained that he had received a telephone call the day before from a man who tried to obtain
information about his medical history (i.e., doctors, health insurance coverage, etc.). During the conversation, the unknown man with a strong Indian accent asked if Sacco received Medicare. In response, the man replied in the affirmative and provided his Medicare health insurance I.D. number. In addition, the man provided his home address. The man was concerned he was a victim of a scam and did not know what someone could do with his Medicare I.D. number. The officer advised the man to contact Medicare to let them know about the incident. In addition, the officer recommended the man call his doctor to see if this was truly a scam or if it was someone from the medical office.
9:08 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Washington Street to speak with a town employee who reported that someone had used her Social Security number to file for unemployment benefits. The woman had already followed the filing instructions on Mass.Gov to report the incident and was now reporting it to the police.
4:38 p.m. An officer assisted a citizen on Washington Street and filed a report.
5:19 p.m. An officer assisted a citizen on Farrell Court and filed a report.
5:26 p.m. An officer assisted a citizen on Lafayette Street.
6:23 p.m. An officer assisted a citizen on Tidewinds Terrace and filed a report.
10:56 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle crash on Pleasant Street and filed a report.
