A Flood of Crime

The following reports were taken from the Boston Police Department news blog from March 24 to March 28.

At 7:45 a.m. on March 28, officers responded to a robbery at 47 Mansfield St. When the officers spoke to the owner, he said a man from the “Water Disaster Department” wearing a gold badge had been to his house recently to check for flooding. This suspect asked the owner to run his washing machine and check the basement for flooding while he ran outside for a minute. The “Water Disaster Department” inspector never returned. Police issued a warning Monday for citizens to be leery of flood-related frauds.

HOME RUN

Around River Street and Gladeside Avenue, two officers noticed a black car zooming down the street at high speeds at about 1:00 a.m. on March 28. After the car ran a stop sign, the officers turned on their siren and lights to pull the vehicle over. However, the car continued to drive. The police chased the car all the way to the driveway in front of 114 West Selden St., where the black car stuck the front steps of the house there. At this point, the driver jumped out of his car and surrendered to the police. The police asked him why he had refused to stop; the suspect said, “I knew my license wasn’t valid but I thought if I was able to make it home, everything would be alright.” The driver had crashed into his own house.

GAME, SET, MACHETE

At about 7:00 p.m. on March 28 in Liberty Plaza, officers responded to a call about a victim who was assaulted by four teenagers wielding a machete. According to the victim, the teenagers, three of whom were minors, threatened and taunted him before brandishing a machete. At this point, fearful, the man ran into a friend’s house and called the police. When the officers searched the teens, however, no machete was found.

LOST AND FOUND

On Blue Hill Avenue at about 2:40 p.m. on March 24, police noticed two people walking down the street. Since the officers thought their behavior was suspicious, the police stopped the pair and asked one if he had any identification on him. The male suspect said he did in one of his pockets. The officers patted him down and discovered what felt like a gun in one of the man’s pockets. “That’s a gun, I found it on the street,” the suspect said. The officers arrested him after some struggle and found three bags of what appeared to be marijuana in his other pockets.