Table of Contents
Jan. 15
11 a.m. —Officer Adam Mastrangelo responded to the police station lobby to take a report of alleged fraud from a resident of Nanepashemet Street. The resident told Mastrangelo he had been attempting to sell his vehicle through an online auto trading platform and had been exchanging emails with a prospective buyer. After the platform reportedly deleted the buyer’s original email account, the resident continued communicating through a secondary email address. The individual, known only by the name provided in the emails, allegedly directed the resident to purchase a vehicle history report through a website, which cost $39.99 and was paid for with a credit card. After completing the payment, the resident said he realized the transaction appeared to be a scam. The resident told Mastrangelo he had also arranged to meet the alleged buyer at a church parking lot on the morning of the report, but no one appeared at the agreed-upon time. Mastrangelo waited with the resident past the scheduled meeting time and confirmed no one arrived. The officer had the resident check for additional unauthorized charges on the account used for the payment and was told none had been made. Mastrangelo advised the resident to notify his credit card company, credit reporting agencies and banking institutions. The incident was classified as larceny under $1,200 by false pretense.
8:39 p.m. —Officer Robert Picariello was dispatched to the police station lobby for a report of alleged credit card fraud. A resident of Trinity Road told Picariello she had been alerted by her current credit card company that her Social Security number had been flagged and her address had been changed. Upon further investigation, the resident allegedly discovered that a Capital One credit card had been opened using her Social Security number but listed under a different person’s name and a Florida address. The resident told Picariello she had already contacted Capital One to report the matter and that the company had requested she file a police report. Picariello also advised her to report her Social Security number as compromised through the Social Security Administration’s website. The incident was classified as identity fraud.
Jan. 19
12:52 p.m. —Officer Brandon Boutilier was dispatched to the police station to take a report by phone from a 76-year-old resident of Pleasant Street. The caller told Boutilier she wanted to report what she described as “violent talking.” She said she had overheard a heated conversation among several men that appeared to come from the hallway of her building at approximately 11 p.m. the previous night. The caller alleged the men were discussing topics including a potential world war and how they would participate in it, as well as remarks about immigrants and claims of expertise in arterial bleeding. She told Boutilier the apartment in question frequently generates loud noises and occasional fighting. The caller said she believed the men may have been intoxicated at the time and that the conversation made her feel uncomfortable. Boutilier told her he would document the report and advised her to call back immediately if she believed a physical altercation was occurring. He also recommended she contact her landlord about the late-night noise. The incident was classified as police information with no crime involved.
Jan. 21
4:10 p.m. —Officer Robert Picariello was dispatched to a Starbucks on Pleasant Street for a report of a disturbance. The reporting party, who works at the neighboring Spitfire Tacos, told Picariello she is familiar with a 13-year-old boy who allegedly causes repeated problems at the taco restaurant. The employee said the juvenile frequently enters the business, allegedly smokes inside, takes merchandise without paying and refuses to leave when asked. On this occasion, the reporting party said she was off duty and visiting Starbucks as a customer when she observed the same juvenile using an e-cigarette inside the coffee shop. She decided to call police, but the boy had left a few minutes before Picariello arrived. The officer advised the reporting party to call police when the juvenile was actively causing a disturbance or refusing to leave and informed her about the no-trespass process, which she could initiate on behalf of the business. The incident was classified as a disturbance with no crime involved.
Jan. 22
9:02 a.m. —Officer Andrew Clark spoke with a resident of Nanepashemet Street regarding a case of alleged identity fraud. The resident told Clark she had received a letter from Capital One the previous week containing a credit card she had not applied for. The card, a Capital One Spark Business account, bore her maiden name on the back and a partial version of her email address on the front. The resident said she contacted Capital One to report the fraudulent activity, and the company canceled the card and recommended she file a police report. She also told Clark she had received a suspicious letter back in November asking her to confirm her credit limit. When she called the company listed on the letter, she said the representative asked for her Social Security number, which made her uneasy. She declined to provide it and ended the conversation, suspecting it was a scam. Clark provided the resident with the Identitytheft.gov website to file a federal report and advised her to review her credit for any additional unauthorized activity. He also recommended she consider placing a fraud alert or freeze on her credit accounts.
Jan. 28
12:30 a.m. —Officer Samuel Rizos reported that a town highway department backhoe struck his marked police cruiser while he was parked on Washington Street during an active snow emergency. Rizos had been assigned to relieve another officer who was standing by with a vehicle to be towed. He parked directly behind the towed vehicle on the left side of the one-way street and activated his emergency lights. A parking ban was in effect from 11 p.m. on Jan. 27 through 7 a.m. on Jan. 28, and the highway department was actively removing snow from the area. While Rizos was sitting in the cruiser, a large yellow construction backhoe traveling against the one-way traffic struck the passenger side of the cruiser with its rear bucket. The backhoe operator, identified as a 35-year-old Salem resident, stopped immediately. Damage to the cruiser included a completely dislodged passenger-side mirror, scraping along the entire passenger side and a displaced rear taillight. The backhoe sustained no damage. Sgt. Andrew DiMare responded to the scene, photographed the damage and completed the accident report. A towing company removed the original vehicle. Rizos notified his captain of the crash by email. The incident was classified as a cruiser accident with no crime involved.
Jan. 29
11:50 a.m. —Officer Douglas Mills was dispatched to the police station lobby to take a report from a resident of Front Street regarding alleged identity fraud involving her Bloomingdale’s customer loyalty account. The resident told Mills that for more than a year, someone had been making fraudulent purchases using her loyalty points. She said that when the points were insufficient to cover a transaction, the individual was allegedly able to use an old American Express card number still attached to the account, despite the card no longer being in service. The resident said she had previously notified both Bloomingdale’s and American Express about the unauthorized activity and told American Express not to authorize purchases on the old card. She said American Express continued to allow the charges because of her good standing with the company. The resident told Mills the most recent fraudulent orders, placed over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, included a PlayStation 5 and a PlayStation Portal Remote Player, with shipping information pointing to a Court Street address in New Bedford. A pair of designer sneakers had also allegedly been sent to the same address in late December. The resident told Mills she believed the perpetrator was timing the orders around holiday weekends to delay detection until after items had already shipped. Mills documented the report and forwarded it to detectives for further investigation.
Feb. 1
9:21 p.m. —Officer Christopher Gallo responded to Atlantic Avenue to take a report of an alleged past hit-and-run involving a white 2022 Honda Odyssey minivan parked at a commercial office building. The vehicle’s owner reported discovering damage to the front bumper sometime during the day. Gallo noted that no parts from a second vehicle were found at the scene and no note had been left. The officer noted it was possible the striking vehicle’s operator was unaware of any contact. The incident was classified as leaving the scene of property damage.
Feb. 2
11:15 a.m. —Officer Jason McDonald reported a minor cruiser accident in the Crosby’s Supermarket parking lot on Washington Street. McDonald said he was pulling into the lot from State Street at the same time a black Ford F-150 pickup truck was attempting to exit. Due to large snowbanks, the driveway had narrowed significantly. McDonald stopped his cruiser as far to the right as possible, but the pickup proceeded forward and its driver-side mirror struck the cruiser’s driver-side mirror. McDonald exited the vehicle to inspect for damage and found none. He then spoke with the pickup’s driver, a 67-year-old Marblehead resident whom McDonald recognized. Both parties agreed neither vehicle sustained any damage, and no further action was required.
Feb. 3
1 p.m. —Officer Adam Mastrangelo was dispatched to Humphrey Street for a report of an alleged past hit-and-run involving a pedestrian. A resident told Mastrangelo that approximately one hour earlier, she had been standing on the driver’s side of her parked vehicle in the inbound lane when a passing car allegedly struck her right foot and continued driving without stopping. She described the vehicle only as a black or blue sedan and said she saw it turn onto Brookhouse Drive after the incident. The resident told Mastrangelo she did not fall to the ground at the time of contact. The officer searched the area for surveillance cameras that might have captured the incident but was unable to locate any. The case was forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Division for follow-up.
Feb. 4
3:45 p.m. —Officer Christian Hennigar responded to the police station lobby to speak with a Hudson resident regarding alleged fraudulent activity. The visitor told Hennigar she had been searching for an apartment in Marblehead and found a listing for a unit on Washington Street on Craigslist and Zillow. She said she had been in contact with a woman who identified herself as the listing agent for the property and wired $3,800 to her. After the transfer, the visitor said she was unable to reach the purported agent. When she attempted to locate the listed property owner, she could find no record of that person. She was eventually able to contact the actual owner of the property and learned the listing was fabricated. The incident was classified as larceny over $1,200 by false pretense, a felony. Hennigar documented the report.
Feb. 7
1:21 p.m. —Lt. Jason Conrad reported that Officer Brandon Boutilier was involved in a minor motor vehicle accident with a snow plow on Evans Road. Conrad, serving as officer in charge of the B division, said Boutilier was traveling north on Evans Road in marked cruiser 68 when he encountered a plow heading in the opposite direction. Snow piled on both sides of the roadway had narrowed the road to the point where both vehicles could not pass simultaneously. Boutilier reported that he stopped his vehicle, but the plow proceeded and struck the rear driver-side quarter panel of the cruiser, causing damage. The plow, a red 2007 Chevrolet K3500 truck operated by a local landscaping company, sustained no reported damage. Conrad said photographs were taken at the scene, a crash report was generated and the incident was reported to the captain. The cruiser, a black 2023 Ford Explorer owned by the town, was listed as damaged.
Feb. 8
11:18 a.m. —Officer Robert Picariello was dispatched to Crosby’s Marketplace on Washington Street for a report of a disturbance. The store manager told Picariello that a man wearing a dark coat and Carhartt hat had been screaming at her inside the store. By the time the officer arrived, the man had left the building and was in the parking lot shoveling out a gray 2006 Honda Accord that had been left overnight and plowed in. The manager said the confrontation stemmed from the vehicle being buried by the company that plows the store’s private lot. Picariello spoke with the man, who was accompanied by the vehicle’s registered owner, a 23-year-old Marblehead resident. The older man, who identified himself only by a first name and declined to provide his surname, acknowledged that leaving the car overnight was a mistake but expressed frustration that the store was not more willing to have the plowing company return. He apologized for his behavior toward the manager and agreed not to re-enter the store. The incident was classified as a disturbance with no crime involved.
Feb. 9
3:30 p.m. —Officer Brandon Boutilier took a report in the police station lobby regarding an alleged past hit-and-run on Pleasant Street. The reporting party said he had parked his Colorado-registered vehicle across from a toy store at approximately 11:30 the previous night. Around 9 a.m. the following morning, his mother noticed damage to the vehicle, including a left rear bumper that had been torn off. The vehicle’s owner told Boutilier he had not heard or witnessed anything during the night and had no information about the other vehicle involved. Boutilier told the reporting party he would check for surveillance cameras in the area and documented the report. The incident was classified as leaving the scene of property damage.
Feb. 10
5:33 a.m. —Officer Taylor Nolasco was dispatched to Powder House Court for a report of screaming. A 73-year-old resident told Nolasco that her neighbor, a 65-year-old woman living in the adjacent unit, keeps her awake throughout the night with banging and slamming audible through the shared wall. The caller said she had been yelling that morning out of frustration at being woken up again and had raised the issue with the Marblehead Housing Authority multiple times without resolution. Nolasco then spoke with the neighboring tenant, who said the noise complaints have been a two-way problem since she moved in three years ago. She told the officer she frequently hears the other resident yelling through the wall and had also contacted the housing authority. She said she had a meeting with the agency scheduled for later in the week. Nolasco advised both residents to continue working with the housing authority and documented the report.
9:30 a.m. —Officer Charles Sweeney was dispatched to the police station lobby to speak with a resident of Village Street about alleged identity theft. The resident showed Sweeney mail from American Express indicating a new credit card had been opened in her name. She told the officer she had not applied for any new cards and had already contacted American Express to report the account as fraudulent and request it be closed. The resident said the individual who opened the account had used her Social Security number and her name. When Sweeney asked whether any charges had been made on the card, the resident said no money had been spent and that American Express had frozen the account. Sweeney advised her to monitor her accounts and documented the report. The incident was classified as identity fraud.
Feb. 11
4:20 a.m. —Officer Taylor Nolasco was dispatched to Orne Street for a report of a private plowing company pushing snow back into the roadway. As Nolasco approached the vehicle on foot, it drove away. The officer returned to his cruiser, followed the vehicle and radioed in the license plate number. After several minutes, the driver pulled over on Jersey Street near West Shore Drive. Nolasco spoke with the 50-year-old Lynn operator, who apologized and said he had not realized the officer wanted to speak with him. The driver said he was heading to another job on Sunset Road. Nolasco advised the operator he would need to return to Orne Street and remove all snow left in the roadway. The driver agreed and apologized again.
12:05 p.m. —Officer Jason McDonald was dispatched to Pond Street for a snow plowing complaint. A resident showed McDonald security camera footage from the front of her home, recorded that morning at 5:35 a.m., depicting a white Dodge Ram pickup truck plowing a snowbank from across the street onto the sidewalk and driveway skirt in front of her property. The resident told McDonald the snow had blocked the front entrance to her home, which she had already cleared. While she was outside cleaning up the mess, she said a neighbor approached and told her he recognized the truck as belonging to a man identified in the report. The resident said she did not know the truck’s owner or understand why he would have done it. McDonald went to the identified individual’s residence to speak with him but found no one home.
Feb. 12
1:19 p.m. —Officer Charles Sweeney was dispatched to Fresca Pizza & Pasta on Atlantic Avenue to take a report about a threatening note left on an employee’s vehicle. The business manager told Sweeney he parks his car on Commercial Street and had found a note on his windshield that read, in part, that continued parking could result in flat tires. The manager also provided dashcam footage showing an older man placing the note on the vehicle. The manager mentioned the individual in the video might be a nearby resident. Sweeney told the manager he would attempt to identify the person and speak with them. As of the time of the report, the individual had not been identified.
4:30 p.m. —Officer Christopher Gallo responded to Fresca Pizza & Pasta on Atlantic Avenue for a parking complaint. The business owner told Gallo that an employee had legally parked a white 2022 Tesla on Commercial Street and found a harassing note left on the windshield objecting to the vehicle’s position near a shoveled walkway. Gallo spoke with both the business representative and the complaining party and suggested minor adjustments to the parking arrangement. All parties agreed to the proposed changes.
Feb. 13
10:28 a.m. —Officer Douglas Mills spoke by phone with a resident of Prince Street who reported falling victim to an alleged text message phishing scam earlier that day. The resident told Mills she had received a text asking her to verify a charge for a smartphone purchase. The message instructed her to call a provided phone number if the charge was not hers. When she called, the person on the other end allegedly identified himself as an employee of the Social Security Administration and told her she had multiple accounts open in several states linked to illegal activity. The resident said she provided the last four digits of her Social Security number before being transferred to someone who claimed to work for the Treasury Department. She then disclosed information about her bank accounts, including the type of accounts and the institution, though she said she did not share account numbers. When the caller began asking personal questions about her household, the resident said she recognized the scheme and told the person she was calling police. Mills documented the report and advised her to contact both her bank and the Social Security Administration for guidance on protecting her accounts. He also recommended she review her credit reports, report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission and consider placing a freeze on her credit.
12:19 p.m. —Officer Andrew Clark spoke with a resident of Humphrey Street regarding a case of alleged identity fraud that began three days earlier. The resident told Clark he had been shopping online for birthday gifts for his wife on Feb. 10 and began receiving hundreds of spam emails approximately three hours later. Among them was an email from Dell, which he dismissed. The following day, he received a message from a loan service for a bank advising him of a new payment account, which he also ignored. On Feb. 12, he received a shipping notification from Dell for an order he had not placed. He contacted Dell through its website chat and was told the company would cancel the order. He learned someone had allegedly used the loan service as a line of credit to make a purchase at Dell. The resident also notified the loan company’s fraud department. On the day of the report, he received yet another email from Dell saying the order would be delivered that day. He contacted Dell again, and the company reached out to the shipping carrier to cancel the delivery. The fraudulent purchase was a computer valued at $3,000. Clark advised the resident to check his credit, consider a freeze and report the incident through Identitytheft.gov.
6:31 p.m. —Officer Sean Sweeney was dispatched to Temple Emanu-El on Atlantic Avenue for a report of a suspicious person. The reporting party, a 64-year-old Swampscott resident, told Sweeney that an unfamiliar man had entered the temple during a Friday evening service, greeted him and then lingered for an extended period before leaving. The reporting party said he and the rabbi found the behavior unusual. He also told Sweeney that a dark sedan, possibly a Ford Focus, then made several laps around the building before departing in an unknown direction. Sweeney searched the parking lot for suspicious activity, then remained in the area for the duration of the service. The officer did not observe anything unusual. He was later relieved by another officer who continued monitoring the area.
Feb. 14
2 p.m. —Officer Andrew Clark responded to Mohawk Road for a report of a resident falling victim to an alleged text message scam. A couple told Clark that the wife had received a text that morning from an overseas phone number. The sender claimed to be their college-aged son, said his phone was broken and asked her to text a new domestic number. Believing the message to be legitimate — their son was away with a ski club in New Hampshire and had a history of phone trouble — the wife began texting the new number. Over the course of the exchange, the person posing as the couple’s son claimed his bank account had been frozen due to a phone number change and asked the mother to pay an urgent bill. The scammer first attempted to collect payment through PayPal, providing the name and email of an unknown individual, but the platform blocked the transactions. The person then asked for Apple gift cards, directing the mother to buy three $500 cards at retail stores. The wife purchased the cards from two separate locations and sent the redemption codes via text. The scammer then requested an additional $1,500 in gift cards, at which point the couple grew suspicious. The husband texted back demanding a phone call and threatening to contact police, ending the exchange. In total, the couple lost $1,500 in Apple gift cards. The wife told Clark that looking back, the impersonator’s persistent avoidance of a phone call and escalating demands should have raised earlier alarms. The case was forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Division for review. Clark classified the incident as larceny over $1,200, a felony.
