Crime & Safety

Police Log: Claim of 'Black Assailant' Rings False

Incidents handled by the Belmont Police Department. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.

Hello, you're under arrest

Aug. 17 – Belmont Police found their man just after 9 a.m. although it meant just showing up at his door. Dominic Ladetto, a 51-year-old resident of 47 Bartlett Ave., was arrested on a Belmont warrant for a larceny of a credit card, entering a dwelling at night, using a credit card that wasn't his and a few more serious charges.

Race to the truth

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Aug. 17 – At just about half past 5 p.m., Belmont officers received a call from a 21-year-old Channing Road resident who said someone had just broken into his home minutes earlier. Police found the young man shaken by the alleged incident. He said he was taking a shower when he heard the door knob begin giggling as if someone wanted to come in. The man soon afterwards opened the bathroom door to confront what he said was a "black man in the doorway." He allegedly ran after the man who escaped out a shattered window of a sliding glass door. Belmont Police searched the area and brought in a K9 team from Waltham to follow a possible trail. The "victim" said that the black suspect stole a gold wedding band, assorted jewelry and three credit cards.  

But a few days later, a relative of the young man called officers to discuss the crime. He told police that he discovered all the items reported stolen behind a shed in the rear of the property. Re-interviewing the 21-year-old, the man confessed that the break-in never occurred, the material was not stolen. And just as important, the stereotype "black" assailant only existed in his false claim. While talking to officers, it was determined he required attention at Mt. Auburn Hospital. He will be charged with filing a false crime report.

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Don't drive licenseless

Aug. 18 – It's never a good thing to run a red light but especially when the driver decides to run the light at 3 a.m. in the morning with a patrol car parked nearby. When checking Chris Santosuosso's papers, it was determined that his license was suspended by the DMV. The 29-year-old Belmont resident who lives at 162 Beech St., was arrested for operating a vehicle on a suspended license and failure to stop at the light.

Family dispute

Aug. 18 – Hard to 11 p.m., officers were sent to a house near the corner of Bartlett and Jeanette for the report of a fight in progress. While the combatants had scattered, a witness said a man involved in the dispute was inside a nearby house. The officers found him with scrapes on his neck and face. The injured party said the dispute revolved around damage sustained to a pair of tires. After some prompting, the victim was taken by Fire Rescue to a nearby hospital. The other member of the dust up was not around but it quickly was determined that the battlers are related by blood. The relatives – 19-year-old Belmont resident and a 50-year-old Waltham man – were charged with disturbing the peace.

Mother and daughter meeting

Aug. 20 – At a quarter past 11 p.m., the peace along Holden Road was broken by such screaming and yelling that neighbors were left with little recourse than to call the police. Police arrived after a couple, a teenage Belmont girl and a young man, had left but a witness said the girl, who use to live at the Holden Road house with her mother, attempted to enter the house with her new friend but mom wanted nothing to do with them, yelling them to "Stay away!" It also came to light that the girl is a runaway juvenile from state care.

Uttering that doesn't involve a cow

Aug. 21 – Officers were sent to Belmont Savings for someone attempting to forge a $750 business check at the teller station. Sure enough, the check required two signature and the man, 21-year-old Jaymes Price from 7 Walnut Park in Roxbury, was there alone. And officers soon determined that there was no reason for Price to have that check in his hand. Price was arrested for uttering a forged instrument (signing a stolen check) for more than $250. And Mr. Price is known to Boston Police as he has two outstanding charges for the same crime. It appears that Price is part of a gang that has been cashing forged checks for the same amount in and around Boston.

Can I talk to Bill Gates?

Aug. 21 – A little past 3 p.m., a Watson Road resident said he received three calls from different men who claimed to be from the "technical department of [Microsoft] Windows" in Texas and wanted to do some repairs. They wanted the Belmont resident to log on a specific website and wait for instructions. But each time he asked to speak to a supervisor, the caller hung up. After a quick investigation, the calls from Texas were actually originating from a store in Queens in New York. Police ask residents not to log into any sites they are not current logging into.

Hurting a friendship

Aug. 21 – A few minutes after the incident with the phony website, police went to a Sycamore Street residence where a man was missing his wallet and cell phone. He said he thought his friend's son took the items. He was right, a 17-year-old Belmont resident came over to the man's house with both items. The teen will by charged with larceny below $250.


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