Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Thursday, May 4 through Wednesday, May 10, 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, May 4
4:19 a.m. Person found himself wondering, “Dude, where’s my car?” so he called the police.
9:30 a.m. A walk-in reported finding a ticket that had been issued to a vehicle on Pleasant Street.
9:38 a.m. An officer spoke by phone to a Marblehead woman who had been a victim of identity theft and unemployment fraud. The woman’s employer had discovered earlier in the day that an unknown person had applied for unemployment benefits using the woman’s personal identifying information. The officerI advised her to contact the state’s Department of Unemployment Assistance online and to fill out its fraud report, and to monitor her credit and speak with her bank about the incident.
10:12 a.m. An officer was on patrol in a marked cruiser when he observed a blue Honda Civic drive through a red light on Pleasant Street at Ocean Avenue. The vehicle continued outbound until police stopped it by 265 Pleasant St. The officer approached the vehicle and asked for the license and registration from the driver. Using a cellphone, the officer worked through a language barrier with the driver by having the vehicle’s owner, the driver’s cousin, translate. Unlike the driver, the vehicle’s owner had a valid license and came to the scene to take possession of the vehicle. The driver was told to be on the lookout in the mail for a court summons related to this incident.
12:30 p.m. A case of larceny, forgery or fraud was reported on Village Street.
9:48 p.m. A caller reported having received annoying phone calls.
Friday, May 5
8:44 a.m. An officer had pulled his vehicle over facing inbound on Ocean Avenue when he noticed a green Acura pulled over on the side of the road. He noticed a “no parking either side” sign in front of him and conducted a computer search of the plate attached to the Acura, which confirmed that the vehicle was unregistered. He then went to place a town citation on the vehicle when a Hispanic male in the driver’s seat rolled down the tinted window. Another Hispanic male was in the front passenger seat. The officer explained that he was going to place a citation on the vehicle because it was illegally parked and had an expired registration, which the driver said he knew. The man told the officer that he did not have a valid driver’s license, either from Massachusetts or another country. The man did produce an ID that showed a picture of himself with an address matching the registration of the vehicle. The officer requested that the vehicle be towed. The man indicated that his boss would be able to pick him and his passenger up. The officer confiscated the vehicle’s license plates.
9:35 a.m. A report that a boat had pulled a wire down on Chestnut Street was referred to another agency.
3:14 p.m. A running hydrant was reported on Coolidge Road.
4:19 p.m. A group of kids smoking was reported on Wyman Road.
6:48 p.m. Officers were dispatched to West Shore Drive and Jersey Street for a report of a person hit with a gel blaster gun while driving. The dispatcher informed the officers that it was a group of three boys. One officer arrived on West Shore Drive and noticed three kids walking outbound on Jersey Street by Village Street. He immediately pulled over and asked the three young men, one of whom was holding a gel Nerf gun, to stop. The officer explained to the boys that the police had just gotten a call that someone was shooting a Nerf gel gun at a vehicle. He asked the boys if they had shot the gun at a vehicle, and they confessed that they had done so twice, and one of the boys admitted he was the one who had pulled the trigger. The boys said the driver had turned his vehicle around and started to throw pennies at them, prompting the boy with the gun to shoot back approximately three more times. They explained that they were only shooting at the vehicle and were not trying to hit an individual. After getting this statement from the group, the officer radioed to another officer to get a statement from the reporting party. The officer stood by with the boys while the other officer was speaking with the reporting party. The other officer reported that the gel bullet had hit the reporting party in the eye but that the reporting party did not want to press charges at this time. The officers explained to the boys that the reporting party did not want to press charges but that the police would be continuing to investigate. The officer gathered all the boys’ parents’ information and sent the boys on their way, but not before seizing the gel gun for evidence. While at the station, one of the boys’ fathers called. The officer and the father discussed the severity of the incident, and the father said he would be having a further discussion with his son.
8:29 p.m. Officers assisted with rendering aid to a person who had suffered burns when hot oil splashed over. The person was transported to the hospital.
Saturday, May 6
10:53 a.m. A caller on Redstone Lane reported receiving annoying phone calls.
12:29 p.m. An officer investigated a complaint regarding kids skateboarding on Prospect Street.
5:11 p.m. Officers could not locate the source of suspicious activity reported on Norman Street and Calthrope Road.
5:29 p.m. Officers investigated a report of a stolen key on Community Road.
10:06 p.m. An officer investigated a report of an assault on Ocean Avenue.
Sunday, May 7
12:03 a.m. Two officers were dispatched to Prospect Street to investigate a report of a hit-and-run crash that had just occurred. Upon his arrival, an officer came upon a Honda CRV that was parked legally on the side of the road with significant damage to the front driver’s side of the vehicle. There were also car parts scattered all throughout the roadway. The officer was met by the registered owner of the vehicle and his wife who had been in bed when they heard the crash. By the time they looked out the window, the suspect vehicle had already taken off, and they could not get any description or license plate. Upon investigating the crash scene, the officer discovered car parts belonging to a vehicle manufactured by Nissan, including the front grille emblem, a part of the front left fog light and a piece of another front light. The officer secured these car parts in his patrol vehicle as some of them had serial numbers on them. He cleared the crash scene and joined other officers in the search for the suspect vehicle. While looking, one of the other officers found a large chunk of the front bumper and splash guard belonging to the suspect vehicle at the intersection of Rowland and Prospect streets. After searching the area with no luck, the officer returned to the police station to run the serial numbers off the evidence he had taken. He discovered that the suspect vehicle was a Nissan Altima manufactured between 2007 and 2013, and either light gray or silver, based on the color of the front bumper piece that he had. He printed a list of vehicles matching this description registered in Marblehead and went around to check if any of them were the car in question, but he was unable to locate the suspect vehicle.
8:51 a.m. An officer spoke at the police station with a man whose son’s bicycle — a two-year-old black Big Flyer with red spokes — had been stolen the night before from a front yard on Susan Road. The man planned to try to track down the serial number. The officer planned to search the immediate area in case it had been abandoned nearby.
10:03 a.m. An Atlantic Avenue resident called to report a smashed rear window on his mother’s vehicle, which the officer then went to the scene and observed. The resident’s mother had stopped driving, and the vehicle, which was for sale, had been parked at the man’s house for greater visibility. All of the vehicle’s doors were locked, and there was no other damage. The resident had last seen the vehicle without any damage at around 8 p.m. the night before.
10:20 a.m. A minor vehicle accident was reported on Atlantic Avenue.
2:57 p.m. Speeding vehicles were reported on Waterside Road.
5:36 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle accident on Pickett and Washington streets.
8:38 p.m. An officer assisted with a disabled vehicle on Pleasant Street.
10:11 p.m. Officers were dispatched to the area of Puritan Road at West Shore Drive for a rollover vehicle crash. The first officer to arrive found a Honda CRV flipped over and laying on its roof in the middle of Puritan Road. Bystanders immediately told him that there was a woman still in the vehicle who was conscious. The officer approached the front passenger side window and cut away the deployed airbag with his pocket knife. The officer discovered the driver laying in the driver’s seat and on the phone with her daughter. The woman told the officer that she was driving from her daughter’s house on Overlook Road towards West Shore Drive when she struck a parked vehicle and flipped. The Marblehead Fire Department had by then arrived on scene and began to stabilize the vehicle and extricate the woman from being trapped. Parked legally on the side of the roadway in front of 1 Puritan Road was the vehicle that had been struck, a Honda Accord. There was damage to the front driver’s side as well as to the sunroof of the car. The owner of the Accord was not present at the scene; however, she had been alerted to the situation by a friend who was on scene. The Accord’s owner elected to have her vehicle stay on Puritan Road until she could arrange for her own tow the following day. The overturned CRV, which had damage to the entire vehicle, was eventually uprighted and hauled to a tow yard in Salem.
Monday, May 8
7:24 a.m. Officers assisted with the investigation of a gas odor on Ocean Avenue.
8:03 a.m. An officer took a report of harassment from a walk-in to the police station.
2:58 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a minor two-vehicle accident on Driftwood Road.
4:42 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a man who reported that someone had filed for unemployment by using his Social Security number. The officer asked the man if he had shared any of his information lately or reported to the inspector general’s office about someone having access to his Social Security number. The man said that he had not shared any information lately and had already reported it. The officer advised him to keep a close eye on his information as well as his bank accounts.
6:41 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a woman who explained that her bank had called to let her know that someone tried opening another bank account using her Social Security number. The woman said that she advised the bank that she did not open any new bank accounts. The officer then told the woman that she needed to have her Social Security number flagged by the state as stolen. He also told her to report back to her bank that she filed a formal police report and to keep a close eye on her accounts for suspicious activity.
Tuesday, May 9
2:48 p.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby who explained that he had been trying to sell a car on Craigslist and had recently been contacted by a man who said that he would purchase the vehicle for $1,200 and also add an additional $4,000 onto the sale price for shipping. The next day, the Marblehead man had received a check from the would-be purchaser from an unknown business. The local man tried to cash the check but got cold feet and had Marblehead Bank reverse the transfer and came immediately into the Police Department. The officer called both numbers from which the alleged buyer had called, and they were both out of service. The officer informed the man that it was, in fact, a scam and offered him further assistance.
5:21 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Evans Road to investigate a landlord-tenant dispute. The resident reported to the officer that he had just returned home from work and discovered the lock had been changed to the common area front door. The tenant had not been provided a key to the new lock and had to force entry into his apartment through his back door. The tenant claimed he had called the property manager who instructed him to call the landlord. The officer advised the tenant that the issue was a civil matter and to consult with an attorney. But the officer offered to call the landlord and advise him of the legal eviction process. Back at the station, the officer spoke by phone to the landlord, who admitted that he had the lock changed, citing various reasons. The officer explained to the landlord that he had to provide his tenant with a key and could not just make his tenant homeless. The officer also explained the eviction process, which the landlord claimed does not work. The officer explained the process does work, but it takes time, as with all court cases. The landlord, “to his dismay,” said he would respond to the residence and leave a key for the tenant, according to the officer’s report.
Wednesday, May 10
7:42 a.m. A water break was reported on Pickett Street.
10:02 a.m. An officer investigated a report that a person had given another person the finger on Ocean Avenue.
10:52 a.m. A 58-year-old Peabody woman was arrested and charged with shoplifting by asportation after officers were called to Washington Street.
12:55 p.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Intrepid Circle.
4:39 p.m. An officer conducting traffic enforcement in the area of Ocean Avenue observed around 14 vehicles in the span of a half-hour with an average speed between 22 and 27 mph.
7:50 p.m. A disturbance was reported on Pond Street.
