Excerpts from the Marblehead police log July 27- Aug. 6. Consistent with state law, police have adopted a policy of not providing media outlets reports related to incidents involving domestic violence, juveniles and matters that remain under investigation.
July 27
9:46 a.m. — Officer Sean Sweeney responded to a report of fraudulent activity on Orne Street. A resident reported receiving several credit card application denials despite not applying for any new cards or lines of credit. The victim had already contacted financial institutions and credit reporting agencies to flag their account. No monetary loss was reported. Sweeney advised the resident to contact the police if any further suspicious activity occurred.
July 28
3:50 p.m. — Officer Tyler Bates took a report of alleged unemployment fraud at the police station. A resident received a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance stating a claim had been filed under their name. The resident confirmed they had not filed for unemployment and had already contacted the state agency to report the fraudulent activity.
7:11 p.m. — Officers responded to a report of a road rage incident near Front Street and Fort Sewall. Officer Tyler Bates interviewed witnesses who described a vehicle swerving close to pedestrians and the driver yelling at them to use the sidewalk. Bates also spoke with the vehicle operator, who denied intentionally trying to hit anyone but admitted to telling pedestrians to use the sidewalk. No injuries were reported, and the incident was documented.
8:18 a.m. — Officer Douglas Mills responded to a report of a dog struck by a vehicle on Atlantic Avenue near Rockaway Avenue. Witnesses stated the dog darted into traffic and was hit by a vehicle that could not avoid the collision. The driver remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation. Animal Control transported the deceased dog to a local veterinary hospital for identification. Mills noted the road was wet due to rain at the time of the incident.
July 29
8:45 p.m. — Officer Tyler Bates took a report of a stolen wallet at the Jewish Community Center on Community Road. The victim reported placing her wallet in her backpack before work at the JCC summer camp. The wallet, containing $2 cash, a house key and a car key, was discovered missing at the end of the day. Bates completed a property loss form and advised the owner to contact police with any additional information.
10:51 p.m. — Officer Andrew DiMare conducted a property check at Marblehead High School following recent reports of vandalism. DiMare observed a suspicious vehicle parked near construction equipment. Upon approaching, the vehicle quickly attempted to leave. DiMare initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as a 21-year-old male. The officer detected an odor of marijuana and the driver admitted to smoking on school property. The driver’s parents were called to pick him up, and he was warned about trespassing and operating under the influence.
July 30
8:11 a.m. — Officer Andrew Clark responded to Tower School on West Shore Drive for a report of illegal dumping. The school’s buildings and grounds supervisor reported that someone had dumped a mattress, wooden chair, two carpets and a floor lamp on school property between 6 p.m. the previous evening and 8 a.m. that morning. Clark documented the incident and advised the school to contact police if similar occurrences happen in the future.
July 31
10:20 a.m. — Officer Adam Mastrangelo was dispatched to Devereux Beach to investigate alleged vandalism to the men’s bathroom. A Recreation and Parks employee reported damage to the bathroom stalls, which occurred sometime the previous day. Mastrangelo photographed the damage and attached the images to his report for further investigation.
11:09 a.m. — Officer Adam Mastrangelo took a phone report regarding an alleged Medicare scam. The daughter of an 86-year-old man reported that her father had received a call from someone claiming to be from the “Medicare Office.” The scammer obtained personal information. Mastrangelo advised the family that they had already taken appropriate steps by contacting Medicare and credit agencies.
Aug. 2
11:29 a.m. — Officer Nicholas Fratini responded to Village School for a report of vandalism. Four broken cafeteria windows were discovered. The reporting party stated they would review security camera footage and forward any relevant information to the police. Fratini documented the incident and forwarded the report to the Criminal Investigation Division for follow-up.
5:17 p.m. — Officer Jason McDonald took a report at the police station regarding a hit-and-run incident. The victim reported that her parked vehicle was struck sometime after 2 p.m. near Commercial Street. McDonald observed minor damage to the front driver’s side bumper area. No witnesses had come forward, and no information was left at the scene. McDonald advised the victim to contact her insurance company.
Aug. 3
9:37 p.m. — Officer Nicholas Michaud responded to a report of a minivan driving erratically with passengers hanging out and shouting obscenities near Atlantic Ocean avenues. Michaud located and stopped the vehicle, identifying the driver as a 17-year-old male. The officer issued a verbal warning for erratic operation and operating with open rear doors. Michaud later contacted the driver’s mother to inform her of the incident and previous traffic stops involving her son.
Aug. 4
8:52 a.m. — Officer Andrew DiMare took a report of a stolen boat trailer license plate on Russell Street. The owner last saw the plate the week of July 15 and noticed it missing recently. The trailer had been parked on Pond Street near a boat repair shop. DiMare observed the trailer, noting it was in disrepair with damaged areas where a plate would typically be attached. The missing plate was entered into the National Crime Information Center database.
Aug. 5
4:27 p.m. — Officer Andrew DiMare responded to Devereux Beach parking lot for a reported alleged hit-and-run. The victim discovered significant damage to her parked vehicle upon returning from the beach. An anonymous witness left a note identifying a black truck with signage as the vehicle responsible. DiMare located the suspect vehicle and its owner, who admitted to the incident. The suspect was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving with an expired registration, which was renewed on-site.
Aug. 5
10:10 a.m. — Officers Sean Sweeney and Andrew Clark were dispatched to Pleasant Street for an ongoing neighbor dispute. The conflict involved property line disagreements and allegations of harassment. Sweeney advised one party to consider obtaining a harassment prevention order if problematic behavior persists and recommended minimizing communication between the feuding neighbors. The officers documented the incident as part of the ongoing series of disputes between the parties.
Aug 6
4:03 p.m. — Officer Nicholas Michaud met with a victim of an alleged Bitcoin scam at the police station. The victim reported receiving a fraudulent text message claiming to be from Apple about suspicious account activity. After calling the provided number, the victim was persuaded to withdraw large sums of money from multiple bank locations and convert it to Bitcoin. The scammer convinced the victim this was necessary to reverse unauthorized transactions. Upon contacting the legitimate Bitcoin company, the victim learned the funds had already been transferred out of the digital wallet. Michaud documented the elaborate fraud scheme for further investigation.
