Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Friday, May 26 through Thursday, June 1, 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.
Friday, May 26
9:21 a.m. An officer investigated a report of a person in a yard on Roosevelt Avenue.
10:43 a.m. An officer spoke by phone with a man who had recently found out someone had applied for unemployment in his name. The man has contacted the three credit agencies. He was told to let the police know if he had any other issues.
11:44 a.m. Grandparent scam calls were reported on Humphrey Street.
1:03 p.m. An officer assisted with a disabled vehicle on Evans Road and Elm Street.
3:55 p.m. An officer and an officer-in-training went to Ocean Avenue to speak with a couple whose computer had been hacked earlier in the day. The husband said that he had been attempting to play a game when an error message, purportedly from Microsoft, appeared on the screen with a phone number to call for help. The husband had called the number and talked for two-and-a-half hours with a man who gave the resident a series of commands to input into his computer, which enabled the man to gain access to the computer. The caller said he was from “the bank” and would help the husband fix his computer. At one point in the conversation, the man asked for the resident’s Social Security number which he did not provide. The caller appeared to have gained access to all the files available on the resident’s computer, including banking websites. Throughout this process, the resident noted a black screen on his computer, and at one point “China” appeared in the corner. Towards the end of their conversation, the man on the other end of the phone stated the only way to fix the computer would be to convert the resident’s money to crypto. The resident refused and ended the conversation, now realizing that he had been hacked. The man called back from the same number several times, but the resident did not answer or speak to him. The resident’s wife had brought the computer to a local repair shop, while the resident had also frozen all his bank accounts. He asked the officer what to do next, and the officer advised him to change all his passwords as soon as possible and to file identity theft reports online with the Federal Trade Commission and with the state of Massachusetts and to contact one of the major credit bureaus. It did not yet appear to the resident that his identity was stolen or that any money had been removed from any of bank accounts. The couple was grateful for the officer’s advice and said they would call police if anything further happened.
4:11 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a minor vehicle accident on Humphrey Street and Hereford Road.
5:08 p.m. An officer and officer-in-training were dispatched to the Star of the Sea Church parking lot to meet with a man regarding a past hit-and-run. The man reported that his vehicle had been hit in the Crosby’s Market parking lot between 4:30 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. When asked if the damage could have occurred at a different time or location, the man stated that he had first stopped in the parking lot of Village Plaza but was sure the damage did not occur there. There were scrapes, dents and marks to the center rear of the vehicle but no clearly visible paint marks left behind. Asked if there were any potential witnesses, the man said that there was a man selling raffle tickets by the front entrance of Crosby’s Market, but he did not ask him if he had heard or seen anything. After finishing speaking with the man, the officers went to the Crosby’s Market lot to check for any debris left and to speak with the man selling raffle tickets, but they found no debris, and the ticket seller said he had not heard or seen anything.
5:35 p.m. Suspicious activity was reported on Broughton Road.
11:37 p.m. Officers investigated the report of a disturbance on Elm and Curtis streets.
Saturday, May 27
4:56 a.m. An officer opening the parking gate at Devereux Beach looked up and noticed five teenagers on top of the roof of the Neck Run Café. After radioing in his discovery, the officer approached the teens to ask what they were doing. One of the young women apologetically responded that they were trying to watch the sunrise after attending their prom the night before. The officers got the names and addresses of all the teens, who were from Salem. They were advised to stay off the cafe’s roof and sent on their way.
12:45 p.m. Annoying phone calls were reported on South Street.
1:28 p.m. An officer was dispatched to the Ace Hardware on Atlantic Avenue to speak with a delivery driver whose truck trailer had been struck by a Jeep after he had gotten out to remove cones the business had put out to save space for his delivery. The driver of the Jeep claimed that it was the delivery driver’s fault because the trailer had been sticking out into the roadway. There was no detectable damage to the delivery truck, while the Jeep had damage on the passenger side door. The delivery driver told the woman driving the Jeep to hold on so that they could exchange information, but she got back the Jeep and drove away before he could do so. The hardware store manager said he would check the store’s security footage to see if it captured the Jeep’s plate number.
2:28 p.m. An officer went to Washington Street and spoke with a woman who was having issues with her next-door neighbor, who earlier in the day had allegedly thrown a gardening bucket over the fence back onto the woman’s property, nearly striking one of her employees. The officer then spoke with the employee, who said she had been standing in the doorway when a gardening bucket came flying over the fence and nearly struck her. She did not believe the bucket had been thrown at her intentionally as she did not think the woman had even seen her standing there. At the caller’s request, the officer then went to speak with the neighbor who explained that the two neighbors leave stuff in the common alleyway all the time and that she had tossed the bucket over the fence as the alley is supposed to be kept clear of such items. The woman said she had not seen anyone in the yard when she tossed the bucket over the fence and apologized if it had scared the young employee. The neighbor asked the officer to relay the message to the woman and her employees that they need to keep the alleyway clear, as she had nearly tripped on the bucket while carrying goods into her apartment. The officer passed along the message and cleared the scene.
9:21 p.m. Officers investigated a report of loud music on Crestwood Road.
Sunday, May 28
1 a.m. The theft of an Apple ID was reported on Beverly Avenue.
8:16 a.m. A “real turtle” was reported on Pond Street.
11:56 a.m. A log entry reading “did not hit dog” was created related to an incident on West Shore Drive.
5:55 p.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Pleasant Street.
9:16 p.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Ocean Avenue.
Monday, May 29
9:34 a.m. An officer investigated a possible abuse prevention order violation on Pleasant Street.
10:41 a.m. An officer investigated a report of people working on the holiday on Pleasant Street.
10:49 p.m. An officer went to Washington Street to speak to a man who had just received a voicemail from dispatch informing him that his vehicle had been struck by a National Grid truck. The officer took photos of the vehicle but could not locate any surveillance cameras in the immediate area. Back at the station, the officer spoke to a witness, who had seen a white National Grid van with a ladder on top of it strike the vehicle. As of 3 p.m., staff at National Grid’s headquarters reported that none of their drivers reported having been in a collision and that none of their vans have ladders on top of them. The officer came to believe the striking vehicle may not have been a National Grid van.
10:49 a.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Washington Street.
12:42 p.m. An officer was dispatched to the area of Abbot Hall to speak with a candidate in the June 20 town election who reported that, upon returning to his vehicle, he noticed that two magnet campaign signs that had been affixed to his vehicle less than 45 minutes earlier when he parked were no longer there. The officer searched the surrounding area but did not find any cameras that would have captured the incident, and no witnesses had come forward. The officer told the candidate that a report of the incident would be on file.
1:04 p.m. An officer spoke at the station with a man who had gone to Waterside Cemetery earlier in the day and discovered that the World War II grave marker on his father’s grave — a bronze spike with an eagle on it — was missing. He had last seen the marker roughly three weeks earlier. The man said he would check with the Cemetery Department to see if it had the marker.
2:13 p.m. An officer was met at the station by a woman who reported that on May 24 at approximately 2 p.m., her neighbor had approached her aggressively, stating, “Hey, you! Your branches are over my property line, and if you don’t trim them, I will trim them myself and send you the bill.” The woman informed the officer that she had her land surveyed and that the branches were on her property. The woman reported that her neighbor was so out of line that his son, who was in the yard with him, had to tell him to stop. The officer advised the woman how to obtain a harassment prevention order, and she said she would continue to document any negative interactions with her neighbor.
3:13 p.m. An officer investigated the report of a past vehicle crash on Jersey Street and Ramsdell Road.
10:26 p.m. Annoying phone calls were reported on Gerry Street.
Tuesday, May 30
2:20 a.m. Officers investigated the report of a disturbance on Page Road.
10:03 a.m. Annoying phone calls were reported on Gerry Street.
2:37 p.m. An officer was dispatched to State Street to speak with a woman about an ongoing dispute with her landlord. The woman said that earlier in the day the landlord had yelled at her daughter’s friend about parking his moped in the back of the building, even though it was in the tenant’s assigned parking spot for her apartment. The tenant said the landlord then told her that no motorcycles were allowed to park in the back of the building. The woman also mentioned that she was involved in an ongoing civil case with the landlord based on previous incidents. The officer advised her to likewise any future incidents she had with the landlord.
5:34 p.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Pleasant Street.
Wednesday, May 31
8:08 a.m. An officer investigated a report of unemployment fraud on Washington Street.
9:27 a.m. A “leaf-blower issue” was reported.
9:30 a.m. An officer investigated a report of neighbor issues on Arthur Avenue.
10:35 a.m. An officer investigated a report of larceny, forgery or fraud on Dodge Road.
11:33 a.m. An officer assisted with the investigation of an inside odor of natural gas on Peach Highlands.
12:31 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Pearl Street where he was met by the mail carrier for the area who reported that she had recently been yelled at to move her vehicle four separate times by a man driving by in a black truck. She provided the officer with a partial plate number. The officer advised her to see if she could pull her phone out and take a picture of the truck the next time it happened.
5:49 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Jane Road to speak with a woman who owned and operated a small boutique real estate business. Back in March, she responded to an online advertisement from “Luxurious Life Magazine” offering to boost her sales by posting her name, logo, picture and website in five country clubs, four times a year. She ultimately agreed to pay $500 for the magazine company to advertise her real estate business, though there were no signed written agreements. All her communication with the agent had been done over the phone or via email. Shortly after she sent the $500 by Venmo, she noted some small charges on her credit cards. She contacted the credit card companies and was able to prevent any further fraud on her accounts. She had also contacted Venmo to attempt to get her money back but was unsuccessful. Since April 1, she had not received any form of advertising from the company and had not been able to get her money back or contact anyone from Luxurious Magazine. She did contact the agent who said he had left the company after three weeks, as it was not following through with promises to clients. He gave her the number to the owner, but he had not responded to her calls or email. When she had reached out to the Boca Raton Police Department, an officer told her they would need a report from Marblehead Police before heading out to the address listed for Luxurious Life Magazine.
8:55 p.m. Officers restored the peace after investigating a disturbance on Turner Road.
9:25 p.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Broughton Road.
9:31 p.m. An officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Atlantic Avenue.
9:56 p.m. Officers restored the peace after investigating a disturbance on Broughton Road.
11:13 p.m. A person was taken to the hospital after an assault was reported on Gerry Street.
Thursday, June 1
1:39 a.m. Officers investigating an alarm on Pleasant Street ended up arresting two Marblehead men, ages 21 and 20, and charging them with nighttime breaking-and-entering, a felony, and trespassing.
4:53 a.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Pond Street.
7:32 a.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Broughton Road.
9:15 a.m. The same State Street tenant who reported harassment by her landlord two days earlier reported another incident. The tenant was involved in a civil case with the landlord over beginning to rent out what was specified in her lease to be the dedicated parking spot for her unit. Earlier in the day, the landlord had shown up in the parking area, where the tenant had allowed her daughter’s boyfriend to park in her spot. The tenant said that the landlord yelled at both the tenant and her daughter’s boyfriend, though no threats or violence had occurred. The landlord left the area when the tenant told him she was going to call the police. The officer advised her to continue seeking counsel from her attorney and apprised her of the process of obtaining a 258E harassment prevention order.
11:18 a.m. Police fielded a leaf-blower question.
12:10 p.m. Officers investigated the report of a past vehicle accident on Tedesco Street.
1:19 p.m. An officer investigated a report of a hit-and-run on Front Street.
3:01 p.m. An officer investigated a report of an open door on Green Street.
4:27 p.m. Officers responded to a report of a car striking a hydrant on Johns Road.
5:47 p.m. An officer spoke in the police station lobby to a Blueberry Road resident who reported that sometime between 3:54 p.m. and 5:39 p.m., someone had stolen a sign supporting a candidate in the upcoming town election from his front yard near the curb. The man showed the officer Ring camera footage documenting the time frame the sign went missing, though not the actual theft of the sign. The man said he would check with the neighbors to see if they could provide any additional footage.
6:30 p.m. An officer spoke in the lobby of the police station with a woman who stated that her Facebook account and computer had been hacked. She stated that a message appeared on her computer, allegedly from “Microsoft,” that her computer and network had been “compromised.” The woman clicked on the pop-up and followed some of its instructions, including calling a Vermont phone number. She was told by the person on the other end of the phone that her bank account had been hacked. The woman then proceeded to call her bank directly. Her bank notified her that there were a couple pending transactions that were potentially fraudulent, which it did not process and secured her account. She believed contacting the credit agencies was unnecessary because she does not own any credit cards.
8:47 p.m. Officers responded to a disturbance on Calumet Lane.
11:33 p.m. A disturbance was reported on Preston Beach Road.
