Police Log: Thief Steals Bike, Returns to Purchase Lock

They ran off

July 28 – A Pleasant Street resident left a pair of gold doors to a '68 Ford Mustang leaning against his garage last Sunday before going away. When he got back, the doors were not waiting for him. They were valued at $200.

Man deposits fist into victim's face

July 28 – Just before 5 p.m., a man was attempting to use the drive-in automated teller machine at the Bank of America on Trapelo Road in Waverley Square but found it difficult to do so because a Beamer was parked so close to the driveway. "Hey, don't park so close to the bank," said the man to the BMW owner after squeaking by. But that would not be the final word on this matter. After the man made his withdrawal, the driver in the Beamer got out of his car, walked over to him and punched him in the face. "Are you really going to do that in front of my wife?" said the Beamer batterer, who made some threatening movements before getting back into his car and speeding off. Police found the man suffering from a bloody nose but he refused medical attention. It's now under investigation.

Regular or caged free

July 29 – A pair of homes on Payson Road were "egged" overnight, one for the ninth time although the homeowner has only reported a pair of assaults to police.

Escaped with some help

July 29 – A Coolidge Road resident left his vehicle's door unlocked overnight. In the morning, he discovered that the GPS and $10 in quarters decided to leave given the opportunity.

"I was talking to Myra and ... how did I get down here?"

July 29 – Belmont Police were asked to assist Cambridge and Arlington police to find the driver of a blue pickup who decided to steal street manhole covers near Frontage Road. Probably a very big driver.

Someone else scores!

July 29 – A Pinehurst Road resident owned a "real" hockey net (valued at about $1,000) that he liked to put in the driveway so he could play with his son. But a few hours after using it, it was gone along with a lacrosse stick. He's thinking that since it was trash pickup the next day, someone may have hauled it away by mistake.

In a rush to get home

July 29 – And finally on a busy day for police, just before 9 p.m., an officer saw a VW Jetta traveling down Pleasant Street at around 60 to 70 mph, considered a "high rate of speed." After stopping Peter McLaughlin, 63, of 279 Mystic Ave. in Arlington, the officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol. At the conclusion of the field test, McLaughlin was arrested for OUI liquor, speeding and neglectful operation of a motor vehicle.

A job for Nick, Nora and Asta!

July 30 – The owner of an office in a building on Church Street in Waverley Square discovered that a Waterford crystal decanter filled with expensive scotch was missing. In fact, other containers with alcoholic beverages were also gone. The man said he does shares space with another company that holds classes in the building after hours but he never had problems before.

Just trying to protect his stolen property

July 30 – Just after 5 p.m., a young man wearing a gray T-shirt and black pants strode into the Wheelworks store on Trapelo and promptly took down a black-and-red Specialized "Hard Rock" mountain bike worth $639 that was located next to the front door and ... voom! Like a rat out of an aqueduct, he was gone with the bike before employees had a chance to organize a chase. Now you would expect that would have be the end of this illegal venture, but, no. Apparently the successful thief realized that he needed to protect his ill-gotten gain. So 40 minutes after taking the cycle, he came back to the same bike store. An employee recognized the man immediately and came up to him asking how he could help him. The thief – wearing the exact same outfit – said he was looking for good bicycle lock. But by then, even the thief realized that returning to the scene of the crime was not the brightest of moves and proceeded to head for the door. But now employees were on his tail and police were close at hand. After getting out the store at a fast walk, the thief upped his pace to a trot and then a flat-out sprint through the Shaw's parking lot and onto the commuter rail tracks where he made a successful escape ... for now. Police are viewing the store's surveillance tapes and are actively investigating the case.