Coffee Refill Demands, Cheese Weapons, and Parent Scam

Police Log August 9, 2022 to August 23, 2022

August 9

At approximately 1:10 PM a repeat customer of Java Sun went into the coffee shop and asked for a coffee refill. He did not have his refill container so was told he needed it to receive a refill. He said he’d left it at home, got angry, yelled, and said to employees he’d be “waiting outside.” He also appeared to knock over a stack of cups. The owner showed police the man’s photo, told police that no one should treat her employees that way, and stated that she did not want him back in the store. While police could not immediately locate him, the man is known to police.  

**********

At approximately 10:40 PM, police were dispatched to a report of a fight in progress. Upon arrival they found a car parked in the road at the corner of Washington Street and Atlantic Avenue with the driver’s door open and a male individual standing outside. Three male juveniles were standing on the sidewalk in front of the car. The adult male was patted down but no weapons were found. The juveniles were questioned and stated that the car had sped around the corner and the male had gotten out and accused the juveniles of throwing something at his car. A witness who was in the Barrelman at the time came out and broke up the altercation. The juveniles claimed they hadn’t thrown anything at the car but had been at the 7-11 at the time.

The car had a “smooshed up cheese” ball stuck to the front passenger door, and several slices of cheese were discovered near where the juveniles were standing. The adult male stated that he’d been driving inbound on Atlantic Avenue when he heard something hard hit his passenger door and decided to turn around to confront the juveniles. He told police that he’d overreacted. Police spoke with a clerk at 7-11 who identified some of the juveniles as having purchased a pack of cheese before the incident. 

August 10

At approximately 2:38 PM police responded to the report of a car accident. The driver of a car reportedly did not stop at an intersection and hit another car. The driver who was hit produced her license and registration. The driver who hit her and admitted to failing to stop at the intersection produced a registration and his passport from Honduras. He was advised that one needs a driver’s license to drive a car. 

August 11

A bartender at the Riptide reported that a regular customer came in at approximately 5:30 PM with his dog. The bartender advised him that no pets are allowed. The man refused to leave and yelled [REDACTED] at the bartender. He then headed out toward the back of the establishment, at which point he kicked in the bathroom door and broke the back door, which came off its hinges. The bartender just wanted to have the matter noted by police but did not seek to press charges. After police left, the bartender called back to report that at approximately 7:00 PM he believed the man had returned, because he heard things breaking in the back and found a broken case of empty bottles. The man was no longer there when police arrived a second time, and the bartender reiterated that he did not want to press charges for trespassing or anything else. 

August 12

At approximately 6:42 PM police on patrol did a property check at Seaside Park and discovered new graffiti on a trash can and a bench. 

August 13

A resident of Smith Street reported that at approximately 2:00 AM she heard men outside her house discussing hot wiring her husband’s truck. She yelled out to them to get away from the truck, at which point a “large” man said, “yeah, we are moving on.”

**********

At approximately 10:15 PM officers were sent to Coffin School for the report of a break-in. The caller indicated that the kids in question had fled in the direction of the cemetery. Upon arrival police observed that a shed on the property had been vandalized. A window was broken and there was trash, clothing, and food inside. No one was located, and the police sent the school department a message recommending that they board up the shed. 

August 14

At approximately 6:15 PM the operations manager at CVS called police to report that a man had been belittling employees. The manager reported that this had previously happened on several other occasions and that the same individual also had been observed more than once stealing from the store. The manager explained that the corporate policy was for employees not to intervene and that the corporate offices were not being helpful with regard to this matter. Police advised the manager to keep contacting “corporate” until they agree to obtain a no-trespass order.

**********

At approximately 7:15 PM police were sent to a home on Crestwood Road for what was reported by an anonymous caller to be a “really bad domestic.” Police arrived at the home and were allowed in by the wife, who expressed confusion about their presence. She said that they had been eating dinner and listening to a battery-powered radio on their porch for the previous 30 minutes, as there had been a power outage in the area. The home was immaculate, and the police determined that a malicious call had been made to bring police to the home.   

August 15

Marblehead police were informed that a town resident had sent an email documenting what she said was harassment by an employee of the transfer station’s swap shed. She said this employee made “childish, snarky” remarks to her and that she did not want any employees of the swap shed to tap her on the shoulder or remove things from her hands. She stated that the employee who had made the snarky remarks had shown up at her yard sale, and she would like him to not come on her property again because she fears for her family’s safety. 

August 16

At approximately 11:15 AM, an employee of Bobbles & Lace reported that two young girls came in and looked around and apparently stole six rings, each worth between $20 and $25. She showed the police officer photos of the girls. They were not immediately located. 

August 20

A woman came into the police station to report that she’d been the victim of identity theft. She is planning to move and was selling a couch on eBay. The couch had been sold, but she was unsure of how to get the payment for the couch. She found a number online for eBay support, called, and began speaking with an agent, who advised her to download an app called “Anydevice.” This app allowed the agent viewing access to her phone. The agent then instructed the woman to log into her bank account apps so he would be able to process the payment. She was unable to access any of the apps, so the agent advised her to download PayPal so eBay could process the payment. The agent was able to view all of the activity that was happening on her phone via the “Anydevice” app. At that point she realized she might have been getting scammed. She looked up the phone number she had called and saw posts warning others  to beware of the number. She contacted the credit bureaus and the FTC to inform them of this situation, and police advised her that a report would be on file for her records. 

August 21

At approximately noon a woman came to the police station to report that an individual had harassed her at the Barnacle. She explained that she’d gone out to the restaurant/bar the night prior with a friend who is physically disabled. As she was walking in she observed an individual known to her standing at the outside bar. This man, she said, was a defendant in a small claims civil case she had filed when he had violated some terms of an agreement they had. She explained that, throughout the evening at the Barnacle, he would approach and make rude comments to her friend about her, suggesting that she needed to make new friends and that her deceased husband was an [REDACTED]. At one point, she says, he walked up to her, stood inches away from her face and said "[REDACTED]!" to her. He also reportedly called her a [REDACTED] before leaving for the night.

The woman told police that the man is employed by the court system in some capacity and is in default in their civil case, which has an upcoming court date. She is concerned that he will escalate his harassment towards her and wished to have the incident documented. She was advised that should he continue such behavior, “intimidation of a witness” charges could be explored.

**********

At approximately 6:15 PM, officers were dispatched to Washington Street to assist Marblehead Fire Department on an outside fire call. Upon arrival, an officer made his way into the backyard of the residence and witnessed a woman yelling at the Marblehead firefighters. The woman appeared to be intoxicated and was belittling firefighters while they attempted to extinguish her illegal fire pit. As the police officer approached the area, a fire lieutenant informed him that since the firefighters had arrived on scene, the woman had been telling them to [REDACTED], giving them the middle finger, and belittling them for doing their job. The woman’s husband was attempting to calm her down but was unable to do so. She became confrontational with police, and an officer informed her that he was treating her with respect and that she should do the same. She calmed down some and began to rant about how the fire department has too much power and that they have no justification for extinguishing her fire pit. At that time, firefighters secured a hose from their fire engine and began to water down the fire pit. While this was occurring, the woman continued to disparage the firefighters. Once the fire pit was extinguished, the Fire Chief informed the woman and her husband that they were only allowed to use firewood to fuel the fire pit and not construction material two-by-fours. The Chief also advised them that if units have to come back to the residence for the same issue, there will be fines.

Firefighters disassembled their hose and made their way to the roadside to load it onto the fire engine, at which time the woman walked over to the fire truck and criticized the firefighters as they packed up their equipment. An officer informed her that he’d be writing a report about the  incident and that it would be in her best interest to stop yelling. She complied and walked back into her backyard. The husband approached officers and apologized for his wife’s confrontational demeanor, stating that she was having a rough couple of weeks due to a court case they are involved in with the town. He added that she’d been stressed out lately which is why she was intoxicated. At that time, she came back to the firefighters and began to video record them as they got into their fire engine to leave the scene. She stepped out into the roadway in front of the fire engine as it was placed into drive. An officer went over to her and ordered her to get out of the street, as she was endangering herself in the roadway. She complied and stepped onto the sidewalk. She was further informed that she could legally record the police and fire responders, but that she couldn’t place herself into danger by walking in front of the fire engine as it was about to drive away. She then returned to her back yard.

August 23

At approximately 11:30 AM an individual was heading outbound on a bicycle on Pleasant Street. A vehicle stopped, and the driver contends he looked both ways but then began driving and hit the cyclist, who he did not see. The cyclist corroborated that the driver looked both ways but then accelerated while looking in the other direction. The cyclist was going against traffic at the time he was hit. 

**********

At approximately 5:26 PM, police took a report over the phone of an attempted “parent scam.” 

A Davis Road resident explained that earlier that morning he received a call from a distraught male claiming to be his son, who currently lives in the western part of the country. The man claiming to be the resident’s son said he’d been in a car accident, failed a breathalyzer, and was now facing charges. He said he’d been injured in the crash and had also severely injured the other driver. He provided the resident with a phone number for a purported attorney to call so that he could avoid jail. The resident called the number and was told that his son was in serious trouble in New York and the only way to keep him out of jail was for the resident to pay $8,000 in bail money. The resident asked what the process would be for him to deliver the money. The individual on the phone said to withdraw the $8,000, place it into a brown business envelope, and await further instructions the next day on what to do with it. The resident agreed and then, thinking it could be a scam to get money, called his son. The son said everything was fine, he had not been in an accident, and he did not need a lawyer or bail money. 

The next day police spoke with the Davis Road resident to see if he’d received any additional calls from the suspect to arrange payment. He had received a call from the same telephone number. The resident told the suspect that he and his wife both have Covid, and the only way they could arrange payment would be for someone to come to his home to pick it up. The suspect wanted the resident to bring the money to the UPS store in Vinnin Square, Swampscott and mail it to New York, which the resident refused to do. At that point the suspect grew menacing and questioned the resident’s love for his family. When the resident said he’d spoken to his son, the suspect hung up on him. 

**********

**********

14 motor vehicle accidents took place between August 9 and August 23, 2022, including hit-and-runs with property damage. 

22 verbal warnings or citations for moving violations were issued between August 9 and August 23, 2022.

Editor’s Note: Marblehead Beacon highlights certain events for publication, which include information obtained from incident, accident, and arrest reports, and on occasion from court documents. We do not attest to the veracity of anything contained in such documents, and only publish redacted versions of what are matters of public record. There will be little to no information regarding specifics in cases of domestic violence, matters pertaining to juveniles, incidents in which an individual is taken into protective custody, and select matters that remain under police investigation.