Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Thursday, May 11 through Wednesday, May 17, 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 11
8:18 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Green Street to investigate a report of a group of painters threatening one of the neighbors. Upon his arrival, he was met by a man who explained that when he pulled into his driveway, there was a painter’s truck parked in the parking lot. The man said that he asked the painters to move the vehicle into another spot, which made them angry and caused them to shout an expletive at him. The officer then walked down the driveway and was met by the owner of the painting company, who said that when the painters arrived, the man had come outside and started yelling at him and his crew. The company owner said he tried to explain to the man that the owner of the building as well as the tenant who has the rights to the parking spot had given them permission to park in the spot, but the man kept yelling at them to move. The painting company owner acknowledged that he had directed unkind words (though different ones) at the man before walking off. The officer advised both parties to keep their distance from each other, and the man was satisfied that the officer had spoken with the painting crew and understood that they were allowed to park where they were.
9:27 a.m. An officer spoke by phone with a man who had been notified by the Department of Revenue and then the CFO of his company that someone had been using his personal information to collect unemployment benefits. The man said that had already been in contact with the unemployment office. The officer advised the man to monitor his bank accounts closely and to report any additional fraudulent activity and to contact one of the three major credit bureaus and place a fraud alert on his credit. The officer then provided the man with the information for reporting identity theft to the FTC.
10:09 a.m. A Beacon Street resident reported having received annoying phone calls.
2:39 p.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Fox Run Lane.
4:26 p.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Front Street.
8:13 p.m. An officer investigated a report of vandalism on Gingerbread Hill Road.
Friday, May 12
7:59 a.m. An officer was sent to the area of the Glover School to investigate a complaint about someone placing traffic cones on the public roadway, which the town had not approved. The officer confirmed the existence of the cones and assisted the man who had placed them there with removing them. According to the officer’s report, the man did not specify why he had put the cones in the roadway, but he did request the officer’s name and take note of his badge number. The officer explained that he had been told by the officer-in-charge to remove the traffic cones, and the man asked for the name of the OIC as well. The officer wrote that he told the man to have a good day and went on his way.
9:35 a.m. An officer spoke by phone with a man who had been informed by his employer that someone had filed for unemployment benefits using his personal information. The officer advised the man to report the fraud to the state unemployment office and to monitor his bank accounts closely and to contact the major credit bureaus to have them place a fraud alert on his credit. The officer then provided the man with the information for reporting identity theft to the FTC.
11:39 a.m. An officer spoke in the police station with a man who believed that his roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend had stolen a Roku WiFi Fire stick and laptop charger from the living room of their apartment, which belonged to his girlfriend. The girlfriend of the man in the station had sent a Facebook message to the roommate, and he denied taking the items. The man in the station asked to have the incident documented. The officer asked the man if he had any proof that his roommate and his girlfriend had stolen the items, and the man said no. The officer advised the man to get a lock for his bedroom door and to keep his valuables locked inside the bedroom when he was not present. The man agreed and stated that he hoped to move to Florida in two months. The man thanked the officer and left the station.
12:06 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle crash on Commercial and Prospect streets.
4:42 p.m. Officers were dispatched to Lincoln Avenue to investigate a report of a neighbor dispute. One of the two people involved explained that he had been outside about to put some food on the grill when his next-door neighbor reached over the fence with a hose and began to spray the grill and the man with water. The officer confirmed that the man was “extremely wet,” and there was water on the ground by the grill. The man explained that, as far as he knew, he had not done anything to provoke the hosedown, though he acknowledged that he has had ongoing issues with the neighbor. He admitted that, in the immediate aftermath of being sprayed, he had thrown a piece of the grill over the neighbor’s fence, and the neighbor had responded by throwing rocks into his yard. Another officer spoke to the neighbor, who “had a similar story.” Both were advised how to obtain a harassment prevention order.
5:15 p.m. An officer investigated a report of an assault on Atlantic Avenue.
5:20 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a woman who had received a letter postmarked May 8 and sent to her parents’ address from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance. She had not filed for unemployment assistance, as she was still currently employed. The woman had been able to log into the account using her Social Security number and reported the fraud to the department. The officer advised the woman to notify her employer about the fraud and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission via identitytheft.gov.
5:28 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Roosevelt Road to investigate a report of past vandalism to a vehicle. Upon his arrival, he was met by the vehicle’s owner who stated that he had recently noticed his vehicle’s windshield wiper had been broken off. The man said he rarely uses this vehicle and could not say for sure when the damage may have occurred. After a quick look around the neighboring houses, the officer was unable to locate any cameras in the area that might have captured the event. The man stated that he does not know of anyone who would target him but indicated that, based on his profession, he understood that his vehicles could be targeted.
7:26 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Lincoln Avenue.
8:08 p.m. An officer investigated a disturbance on Creesy Street.
8:49 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Gerry Street.
10:31 p.m. Officers restored the peace after a disturbance on Phillips Street.
11:49 p.m. An officer investigated a report of vandalism on Pleasant Street.
Saturday, May 13
1:02 a.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Sagamore Road.
7:55 a.m. Police received a report that bikes had been left on Smith Street.
8:55 a.m. An Abbot Public Library employee reported damage to solar lights at the library’s temporary home at the Eveleth School. The staff member showed the officer several lights along the library’s walkway that had been pulled up from the ground and knocked over, clearly intentionally. The officer also saw several trash and recycle bins that had been tipped over and a half-empty beer bottle by the doorway. The officer walked the property and did not see any cameras that could have caught the incident. The staff member told the officer that this was not the first time the lights had been knocked over, but now that some had been broken, she wanted to report it. The officer advised her to ask her supervisor about putting up cameras and said he would ask officers who work the overnight shifts to increase patrols in the area.
9:53 a.m. Vandalism was reported on Phillips Street.
12:09 p.m. An officer went to Jersey Street to investigate a report that someone had thrown a glass vodka bottle at a home, damaging one of the clapboards. The resident had heard a loud thud in the front of her house around 9:30 p.m. the night before but did not think anything of it until she discovered the broken bottle in the morning. In response to a question from the officer, the resident said it was possible that the bottle had been thrown by an employee she had recently fired, but she did not provide the name of the employee because she was not sure the employee would do something like this. The resident pointed out a neighbor’s house with a camera on it, and the owner of that home invited the officer in to review the footage, but the incident had not been captured. The officer provided that update to the woman whose home had been hit with the bottle, and she said she would report back to the police if she found out any more information about the incident.
1:38 p.m. An officer went to Pond Street to investigate a report of an aggressive dog. A resident told the officer that her upstairs neighbor does not keep her dog on a leash and is aggressive towards her small dogs. The resident also mentioned that she thought her neighbor and her daughter had walked into her apartment and stolen her Nintendo video game system. The officer asked the resident if she had any proof, and she said no. The woman said she now has security cameras on her door because she has no idea where her Nintendo went. The officer explained that there is a leash law in Marblehead and recommended that the woman have a conversation with the animal control officer about her neighbors’ dog. The officer tried to contact the upstairs neighbor, but no one answered the door.
2:23 p.m. A woman yelling was reported on Ida Road.
2:39 p.m. An officer assisted at the scene of a vehicle fire on West Shore Drive and Rainbow Road.
2:49 p.m. An officer investigated a past hit-and-run reported on Washington Street.
4:06 p.m. An officer investigated a hit-and-run reported on Atlantic Avenue and Hawkes Street.
6:52 p.m. An officer assisted at the scene of a grill or propane tank fire on Cornell Road.
Sunday, May 14
3:52 p.m. An officer investigated a report that an iPhone had been stolen on Pleasant Street.
4:33 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle accident on Clifton Heights Lane.
7:53 p.m. A boat complaint was made on Village Street.
Monday, May 15
7:28 a.m. An officer investigated a report of vandalism on Atlantic Avenue.
9:46 a.m. An officer investigated a report that a hose had been taken and replaced on Frost Lane.
11:17 a.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Rainbow Road.
2:18 p.m. An issue with brush and branches was reported on Clifton Avenue.
Tuesday, May 16
7:07 a.m. An officer stopped a vehicle while conducting targeted speed enforcement on West Shore Drive and Bayview Avenue and found that the driver, a Randolph man, did not have a license. The officer confiscated the plates and had the vehicle towed, while the driver was picked up by a friend.
8:25 a.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby with a woman who reported being sprayed with water that had come from a vehicle earlier in the day by the Neck side of the causeway on Ocean Avenue. The woman reported that she had been walking on the sidewalk when a black Audi Q5 approached her and stopped. She said the back window then opened, and she saw two black tubes pointed at her. Moments later, she was sprayed with water. The woman then said the vehicle then did a U-turn and headed back to the mainland of Marblehead. The woman was clearly upset about the incident and frightened, according to the officer’s report. The officer notified detectives of the incident and planned to reach out to the school resource officer to determine if there were any “games” or “internet challenges” going on that could explain this incident. The officer also intended to look in the area for cameras that might have caught the incident or could be helpful in identifying the vehicle.
11:23 a.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Clark Lane.
4:43 p.m. An officer spoke at the station with a man who had received a text message about a $989 unknown purchase on his Amazon account. The man had called the number included and provided his address and the last four digits of his Social Security number. The man had gone to the ATM and withdrawn all the money from his bank account so he could hold it for safekeeping. The officer confirmed that it was most likely a scam attempt and to reach out to the bank the following day to report the incident. The officer then called the number through which the man had contacted the alleged scammers, and it was disconnected.
5:58 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Gas House Beach to investigate a report of overdue kayakers. A woman reported to me that her daughter had gone out on a kayak with her friend and another girl. The woman was worried something went wrong because they had left at 4 p.m. and should have returned no later than 5 p.m. After the Marblehead harbormaster did not answer its radio on several attempts, the officer asked dispatch to request that the Salem and Beverly harbormasters assist with the on-the-water search as Marblehead police officers checked the waters around the coastline. At 6:30 p.m., dispatch notified officers that the Beverly harbormaster had located the kayakers near the south coastline of Children’s Island. The kayakers had been picked up by a passing pleasure boat whose captain noticed they were in distress. The officer returned to Gas House Beach and informed the woman of the Beverly harbormaster’s findings and to respond to State Street landing to pick up her daughter and friends. The officer went to the landing as well and spoke with the adult who had taken the girls out on the water who reported that she had underestimated the wind force when she left Little Harbor and was not strong enough to row back in. Without a phone or radio on board, she had attempted to make landfall at Children’s Island. All three of the kayakers declined medical attention and were reunited with family members. (See related story.)
6:50 p.m. An officer spoke by phone with a woman who had been notified by the IRS two days earlier that someone had tried to file taxes in her name. The woman said that she had filled out the affidavit with the IRS and had also notified the credit bureau. The officer advised her to notify her bank and credit card companies and that a report would be on file.
7:07 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Pleasant Street to investigate a woman’s complaint that her neighbor had been verbally confronting her about a past incident between her son and the neighbor’s friend. The woman did not want the officer to speak to her neighbor but wanted the incidents documented. The officer advised the woman about how to obtain a harassment prevention order.
9:25 p.m. An officer monitoring traffic in the Star of the Sea Church parking lot off Atlantic Avenue stopped a speeding vehicle and found that the driver did not have a license in his possession. Another man, who did have a license, said he would come to the scene to pick up the vehicle.
Wednesday, May 17
5:55 a.m. Traffic lights on flash were reported on Smith and Pleasant streets.
7:59 a.m. An officer spoke with a man regarding a past breaking-and-entering of a vehicle that he had been parked in a Lafayette Street driveway at approximately 5 p.m. the night before. He woke up to find that his wallet was missing from the vehicle, which he believed he had locked. At approximately 1:38 p.m., the man called the police department to let police know that he had found his wallet.
9:49 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Maverick Street to take a report on a possible neighbor dispute. Upon his arrival, he spoke with a woman who reported that she has had multiple issues with the family next door over the seven years she had lived there. She explained that about a week earlier, she heard the couple next door calling to her dog, which was outside in her yard. The woman said she found that strange, as the families do not get along, and she did not believe they liked her dogs. The woman said that the reason she had called was that, the night before, she had gone to call her dog in from outside, and the dog was in her neighbors’ yard. She explained that her dog let out a small bark, and there was a delay in the dog returning to her property. She said that she did not see her neighbors holding the dog, but it was her opinion that someone must have been holding the dog’s collar, which is why it barked when she called for it. The officer then went and rang the doorbell next door, and there was no answer. The officer explained to the caller that he would document what he had been told and that a report would be on file. He then explained the process on how to obtain a harassment prevention order. The officer advised the woman to keep her dog on a leash, even on her own property, as she does not have a fence, which might help keep him from going onto other people’s property.
11:45 a.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby with a woman who had received a debit card in the mail from Bank of America with her name on it for which she had not applied. The woman contacted Bank of America who informed her that they had already deactivated the debit card when it was flagged in their system. Bank of America also informed the woman that they had notified the credit bureaus as well as the Social Security office to flag anything suspicious in her accounts. Bank of America instructed the woman to file a police report and to inform any other banks she uses about the fraudulent activities. The woman had not noticed anything else wrong with any of her accounts but said she would keep police informed if that changed.
4:30 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Ramsdell Road to speak to a woman who had a sign placed in her front yard reading, “Now Offering Free Massage.” A short time later, a man had come to her door requesting his free massage, and she had to explain that the sign was fake. The officer was unable to find the man who had come to the door and did not see any other “free massage” signs in other yards.
5:12 p.m. A tree or branch was reported down on May Street.
5:19 p.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby with a woman who said she had been subjected to an anonymous person who had called her employer to report that she was intoxicated on the job, which a co-worker could verify was false. She said that this was not the first time that an anonymous caller had contacted her employer to complain about her. She theorized that it was a tenant in her building with whom she has had constant issues. She was advised to continue to report issues with her neighbor to Salem Police and to consider applying for a harassment prevention order.
7:11 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle accident on Alexander Circle.
8:30 p.m. Officers responded to Fairview Road and arrested a 62-year-old Peabody man who was charged with domestic assault and battery and assault with a deadly weapon.
8:36 p.m. A missing flag was reported on Atlantic Avenue.
