Excerpts from the Marblehead police log of Tuesday, June 20 through Monday, June 26, 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.
Tuesday, June 20
7:57 a.m. Officers investigated a disturbance on Broughton Road.
8:32 a.m. A police officer met with a man who came into the police station to report that he had received an email informing him that his computer was infected with a virus. The email demanded payment in Bitcoin by threatening to release his personal information from his computer. The man recognized this as a scam and did not respond.
11:59 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Miller Plaza for a past hit-and-run. He was met by the owner of a vehicle that had discovered a note left on it by the driver of a vehicle that had struck it. The officer wrote in his report that the damage was “very minor.” After speaking with both drivers, the officer filed a report.
12:21 p.m. An officer was dispatched to the lobby of the station to speak to a woman about missing jewelry, which she had filed a claim about with her insurance company back in February. She had discovered the items were missing when she had gone to look for a Marblehead hockey championship ring to show to family visiting from Texas. Along with the hockey ring valued at $300, also missing were a gold watch valued at $1,500, three gold chains valued at $300, one pearl necklace, also valued at $300, and one tennis bracelet valued at $1,000. Her best guess as to when she had last seen the items was six years ago, as they were not items she wears but rather items that had been tucked in the back of a dresser drawer. The woman explained that she was just documenting the incident for insurance purposes.
3:08 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Pleasant Street to investigate a hit-and-run. He was met with the owner of a vehicle that had been legally parked on Pleasant Street that had been sideswiped by another vehicle, leaving minor damage to her vehicle’s bumper and front left fender. An employee of the nearby Three Cod Tavern said he would check the business’ security video to see if the accident had been caught on camera.
5:04 p.m. An officer spoke at the station with a woman who said she was experiencing ongoing issues from her upstairs neighbors, a mother and daughter. The night before, the upstairs neighbors had let their unleashed dog loose outside, which caused the woman in the station’s dogs to start barking. The woman believed the upstairs neighbors were doing this on purpose to harass her and her dogs. The woman added that earlier in the day she had received an email from the mother, purporting to be a ”notice of violations of bylaws.” The officer explained the process of obtaining a harassment prevention order to the woman.
Wednesday, June 21
5:56 a.m. An officer helped investigate a report of an outside odor of gas on Pleasant Street.
4:05 p.m. An officer spoke at the station with a woman who explained that around June 15 approximately 40,000 airline miles valued at $1,180 had been stolen from her American Airlines Advantage Account. She was currently working with a customer service representative to resolve the issue from whom she had received an email containing the name of a possible suspect. The officer planned to forward his report to detectives.
7:03 p.m. An officer assisted at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Jersey Street.
Thursday, June 22
Police had a particularly busy day of traffic enforcement, issuing 15 citations and giving seven verbal warnings.
12:57 a.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Prince Street.
2:17 p.m. A cell phone caller on Bessom Street reported a case of larceny, forgery or fraud.
7:28 p.m. Peace was restored after a vehicle complaint on Washington Street.
Friday, June 23
12:43 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Pleasant Street to investigate a report of the latest incident in what a business owner said was part of a local man’s ongoing harassment campaign of him and his family. In previous incidents, the man had threatened the business owner’s family and vandalized their property. The officer forwarded his report to a detective for further investigation.
5:48 p.m. An officer was dispatched to Prospect Street, where the homeowner brought him to the back of her yard, which is on a hill with an attached porch. The porch, which overlooks the lower yard and is above the rear fence line, had an inflatable jacuzzi on it. The woman stated that her kids and friends’ kids — 10 children in all — had been outside on the porch in bathing suits waiting for the jacuzzi to fill up so it could be used when two of the kids saw a man on the top floor of a neighboring building holding a red cell phone, which they believed he was pointing out the window at all of them. The officer advised the woman and the two children that it was not a crime to hold a camera outside the window pointing in the area of the rear porch, which was above the fence line. The woman said she had never had any issues with her neighbor in the past. The officer advised her that he would document the incident and told her to call the station if she had any further issues. At 9 p.m., the officer and the officer-in-charge went back to the property and notified the woman that they would be going to the neighbor’s house, which they did. A visitor to the neighbor’s home acknowledged shooting videos with his phone, he said to document underage drinking. When one of the officers asked to see the footage, the man initially declined, saying he had not even looked at them himself. But he then let the officer view two videos, which showed a male and female minor in bathing suits on the porch. The officers advised the man that if he had any issues with the neighbors next door, he should call the police for assistance. He was further advised that, even though it was not illegal, it was in “extreme poor taste” to be videotaping minors in bathing suits on someone else’s property and that it could be perceived in “unfavorable ways.”
9:59 p.m. Officers restored the peace after suspicious activity was reported on Old Salem Road.
11:47 p.m. Suspicious activity was reported on Rockcliff Road.
11:52 p.m. An officer went to Humphrey Street to assist at the scene of a vehicle crash. When he arrived, the Fire Department and EMS were already on scene. The officer found a white Audi that appeared to have crashed head on into a telephone pole directly in front of 236 Humphrey St. Its airbags were deployed, and the vehicle and pole appeared to have significant damage. After being determined not to have serious injuries by EMS, the driver told the officer that he was traveling inbound on Humphrey Street and veered off the road and crashed into the pole. The officer then spoke with a witness who had been driving outbound on Humphrey Street when he saw the white Audi veer off the road and crash. He then pulled over to see if the driver was OK. The Light Department was called to the scene to assess the damage to the pole.
Saturday, June 24
9:38 a.m. Officers investigated a disturbance reported on Pleasant Street.
10:08 a.m. An officer responded to Terry’s Ice Cream, where the owner and his niece reported that they were being recorded and harassed by a man in a vehicle that was backing out of a parking space behind Terry’s. The driver, who was known to the officer, rolled down the window and agreed to speak with the officer about the ongoing civil disputes he and his wife, who owned the business next door, were having with the Terry’s Ice Cream owner. The man explained that he was documenting ice cream containers that had been left in an improper place so he could report them to the Marblehead Board of Health. The officer explained that, in the future, the man should call police to resolve the issue rather than initiate a confrontation. Similar advice was given to the owner of Terry’s and his niece. All of them said they were familiar with the process of obtaining a harassment prevention order from previous incidents.
10:39 a.m. An officer was dispatched to Pond Street to mediate an ongoing neighbor dispute. The caller brought the officer to the back of her yard to show him her neighbor’s deck, which sits above the caller’s deck. The caller explained that her neighbor has plants above her deck that drip water down onto her deck. The caller then showed the officer under the deck where she had raked out items of trash that she believed her neighbor had put there. The officer asked the caller if she had tried speaking with her neighbor about the dripping plants, and the caller replied that her neighbor would not speak to her. The officer then went to the neighbor’s apartment. The neighbor, who was the building manager, invited the officer into her home and explained that the situation with her neighbor had been going on for years. The building manager told the officer that she had tried reasoning with the other woman many times, but she is unwilling to work with her. The building manager said she was consulting with a lawyer and otherwise taking the proper steps to resolve the problem. The officer advised her to keep to herself and otherwise continue with those steps.
7:44 p.m. An officer witnessed a vehicle accident in which a red Mini Cooper backed up in the Our Lady Star of the Sea parking lot across from the police station and struck an unoccupied vehicle hard enough to shift it in its parking spot. The officer then watched as the driver of the Mini Cooper scanned the parking lot for witnesses and then headed out of the parking lot outbound on Atlantic Avenue “expeditiously.” The officer then made contact with the owner of the parked vehicle, who confirmed that the damage was new. The officer identified the driver of the Mini Cooper and planned to file unspecified charges against her.
7:45 p.m. An officer went back to Pond Street to speak once again to a woman about the problems she was having with her neighbor. The update was that the caller had been on her back deck with her dogs when her neighbor walked by and began speaking to her. The woman showed the officer video footage of the interaction recorded by her Ring camera, although it was unclear what was said. The woman began to speak about her neighbor’s various actions but was unable to paint a clear picture of what had happened, according to the officer. Eventually, the woman explained that her neighbor had been storing her kayaks under her deck, and she wanted them removed. She also stated that her neighbor continuously slams the front door, which upsets her. The officer advised the woman that it was a civil matter and explained the process of obtaining a harassment prevention order. Another officer then arrived, and the woman said she wanted the officer to note that she “owns 60% of the building.” She proceeded to describe other random issues with her neighbor over the past few days. Then abruptly, the woman stood up and walked into her home, ending the conversation.
Sunday, June 25
12:24 a.m. Officers were dispatched to the 7-Eleven convenience store on Pleasant Street to investigate a report that the store was open with no employee inside. Upon their arrival, the officers found that the lights in the store were half on and half off, and the door was open with the lock bolt extended out. The officers searched the store and confirmed that there were no employees on site. They did find a schedule that showed an employee had been scheduled to work the overnight shift but apparently had not shown up. The officers tried to lock the doors and leave, but they were unable to do so. At 1:21 a.m., an assistant manager arrived to relieve the officers of minding the store.
3:37 a.m. Officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Pleasant and Gerry streets.
2:02 p.m. An arcing transformer was reported on Darling Street.
4:26 p.m. A woman came to the police station with her son to report a larceny of a small bluetooth speaker from the cup holder of his bicycle, possibly while it was parked outside CVS or Starbucks. The officer said he would check to see if there were cameras outside either of those stores.
5:16 p.m. A patrol officer had been sitting in his cruiser in the police station parking lot observing traffic in both directions on Atlantic Avenue. As he began to exit the parking lot, he observed an Audi complete a U-turn in the Star of the Sea Church parking lot, going over both curbs as it entered and exited the parking lot. Music was also blasting from the vehicle, which had all of its windows down. The officer stopped the vehicle on the corner of Bubier Road and Atlantic Avenue. The driver identified himself by name and date of birth and stated that he did not have his license on him but had a copy of an expired license in the vehicle. The man appeared to be frustrated and agitated during the stop, according to the officer’s report. The officer-in-charge approved towing the man’s vehicle. Upon learning that the vehicle would be towed and the license plates seized, the man began to curse the officer. He retrieved what appeared to be a pet iguana from the passenger seat, along with several other personal belongings. In what the officer described as an “aggressive tone,” the man repeatedly said to both officers, “Remember me! Remember me!” He then walked away angrily, cursing under his breath, according to the officer’s report.
Monday, June 26
11:35 a.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle crash on Elm Street and filed a report.
12:35 p.m. An officer went to State Street to speak to a woman who said she had been dealing with ongoing harassment from her landlord. Moments earlier, the landlord had shown up at her apartment and started banging on her door. The landlord told her that she needed to move her stroller from the base of the stairs, claiming that it was a fire hazard. The woman said that she informed the landlord that she did not have time to speak with him as she was trying to put her young child down for a nap. She said that the landlord then began to yell insults at her, including profanity. The tenant said the landlord then told her that he would take the stroller and put it in the dump himself. The woman said that she told the landlord not to touch her property and that she would be contacting the police. The woman stated that the landlord then left without further incident. The woman stated that she was looking to have the incident documented as there had been ongoing harassment from the landlord. She stated she was working towards applying for a harassment prevention order. The officer noted in his report that there was a stroller located at the base of the stairs, but he was able to walk by it with ease and did not need to move the stroller to access the stairs.
6:35 p.m. An officer spoke in the station with a man who had received a $145 bill for a loan he had allegedly taken out through the U.S. Small Business Administration, which he had never done. He had reported it to the SBA, but they requested a police report. The man assumed his identity had been stolen and used for the loan application. The officer attempted to call the SBA but was unable to speak to a live person.
8:11 p.m. An officer was dispatched to a Washington Street apartment building to investigate a threat complaint. Upon arrival, he encountered a woman who was outside walking her dog. The officer told the woman that another tenant had called the police. He asked the woman if something had just happened between the two of them. The woman with the dog told him that she had been trying to get down the common staircase, but the other woman was coming up the staircase and stopped and blocked it. The woman told the other woman to get in her apartment ,or she would be forced to move her out of the way, to get by her. The woman with the dog claimed the other woman eventually came up the staircase. The officer then proceeded to the other woman’s apartment and spoke with her. The other woman claimed she was coming up the staircase, and the first woman was standing at the top of the staircase, so the second woman had to stop. The second woman added that the first woman threatened to hit her if she did not get in her apartment. In addition to tonight’s incident, the second woman repeated her complaints about the candles scents and other odors that the first woman gives off. She also complained that the first woman does not pick up her dog’s feces and had smeared it on a piece of metal that is used to prop open a door. The second woman explained that the first woman props the doors open to air out the hallway of the candle scents. The second woman also thought that the first woman had tried to lock her out of the building one night by closing and locking the common doorways. The officer advised the second woman to speak to a judge about getting a harassment prevention order against the first.
