Crime is Rampant in Suburban Boston.
When I am bored, I always love reading the police logs from wealthy suburban towns around Boston. 90 percent of the time the report is of something uninteresting like a car accident or items stolen from a car that people were naive enough to leave unlocked. Every now and then, though, an entry sticks out as just utterly ridiculous. Here are some of my favorites from local towns over recent weeks.
From Winchester:
“Police received a report of suspicious activity from an Elmwood Avenue resident at about 10:10 p.m. According to the report, the resident observed a man taking a bike into an apartment complex on the street and believed he may have stolen the bike. She confronted him and the man told her to mind her own business. A police investigation determined the bike was not stolen.”
From Lexington:
“A caller reported a man walking around Busa Farm with a knife. Police responded and learned that the farm allows customers to pick their own vegetables. The man had brought a knife in order to pick his produce.”
“A caller reported suspicious activity of a black vehicle that repeatedly parked on the corner of Bedford St. and Cider Mill Lane. When police responded, the vehicle owner said she was lost and had stopped to look up directions.”
“A caller reported a woman on the street yelling for help. When police arrived, the woman told them she had run out of gas and was looking for someone to help her.”
“A Linmoor Terrace caller reported a suspicious item on the street. Police responded and found a can of chewing tobacco. It was taken and destroyed.”
“Police received a call of a suspicious person walking around the Beth Israel Hospital complex on Hartwell Avenue. Police later found the man was doing some janitorial work.”
From Wellesley:
“Police received reports that four people were going from house to house trying to sell magazines in the Amherst Road neighborhood. Police responded and located the solicitors. None had a permit. They all worked for the same company. All four were arrested, brought to the Wellesley Police Department headquarters and bailed.”
“On June 11 at 5:06 p.m., a resident reported that a storage shed on Barton Road had smoke coming out of it. The neighboring residents were evacuated as a precaution. It turned out the owner of the storage unit had been cooking on a charcoal grill and had used too many coals. He or she then put some of the coals back into its bag and into the shed, not realizing the coals were partially ignited. They started smoldering in the bag and caused the fire. There were no injuries.”
From Boxborough:
“At 10:57 a.m. a Stow Road caller reported a large turtle in a field.”
From Acton:
“At 11:10 a.m. an officer responded to a report of a suspicious red van parked in a Main Street driveway. The van belonged to workmen working on the house.”
