WESTFIELD
Emergency Response and Crime
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013
10:38 a.m.: fraud, a detective reports he was contacted by a representative of an automotive repair facility who complained that a customer paid a repair bill of almost $3,000 with a check which was not honored, the detective reports he spoke with the customer who said that her check had bounced because she had been victimized by a scam and said that she has plans to pay the debt when she gets her income tax return, the woman was advised to contact her creditor and make arrangements to pay the debt in order to avoid criminal charges;
11:38 a.m.: motor vehicle violation, East Main Street, a patrol officer reports he observed a vehicle westbound on East Main Street with a person on a skateboard holding on to the car which was traveling about 30 mph, the vehicle was stopped and the operator told the officer that he did not know it was illegal to tow a skateboarder with a motor vehicle in traffic, a criminal complaint for operating to endanger was filed;
2:08 p.m.: larceny, East Main Street, a caller reports that three persons attempted to shoplift baby formula and fled eastbound in a described vehicle, the vehicle was found and stopped, a routine check revealed one of the suspects was the subject of an outstanding warrant, Maria Torres, 46, of 128 High St., Holyoke, was arrested on the warrant, the other two parties were transported to the store so a ‘No trespassing’ order could be served;
4:15 p.m.: officer wanted, East Main Street, a patrol officer reports he was flagged down by persons in an East Main Street parking lot who said that two children had been left unattended in a parked car, the officer reports the operator of the vehicle eventually responded to a page and said that he had left the children alone briefly while he made a small purchase, the officer reports that he had been in the parking lot for about 10 minutes and it was unknown how long the children, aged 2 and 6, had been left alone, the officer advised the man that the Department of Children and Families would be notified;
4:22 p.m.: fraud, Western Circle, a resident came to the station to report fraudulent activity on his bank account, the responding officer reports the man said that he was advised by an online merchant he had done business with that his credit card information may have been lost when the company’s server was compromised, the man said he checked his account and found unauthorized transactions, the case was referred to the financial crimes unit of the Detective Bureau;
5:24 p.m.: larceny, East Silver Street, a supermarket employee called to report a shoplifter was detained in the store, the responding officer reports he was advised that store employees had seen a man fill plastic grocery bags he had brought to the store with expensive meats and seafood and had been detained when he left the store without making payment, merchandise valued more than $500 was recovered, Thomas M. Ricci, 48, of 11 Jeffrey Circle, Southwick, was arrested for larceny of property valued more than $250, a detective subsequently observed that property in the man’s possession was indicative of other larcenies and an investigation into the man’s other activities was initiated;
6:05 p.m.: animal complaint, King Street, a caller reports that his wife was walking her dog when it was attacked by a neighbor’s dog, the responding officer reports the victim said that a neighbor’s Labrador retriever mix dog broke through it’s fence and attacked her Maltese dog, dragging it back into the aggressive dog’s yard, the woman said when she intervened the dog bit her hand, the director of animal control operations was notified and the dog was quarantined, the woman said she will seek medical attention for her puncture wounds on her own.
