Crime & Safety

OMGPD: Laughing Squatters, Craigslist Bust, and Foiling a Robbery with a... Stapler?

Our weekly compilation of some of the more unusual police reports from around the Boston area. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

Stop, Or I'll Staple
A Waltham gas station clerk foiled an armed robbery on Aug. 27 after hitting the suspect with a stapler, according to Waltham Police.

A white male walked into the BP Gas station at 6 Maple St. and held the store up at gunpoint, say Waltham Police. They said the man pointed a silver handgun at the clerk and demanded cash, but the clerk fought back by tossing a stapler at the robber, striking him in the face. The robber fled south on Crescent Street on a bicycle. He did not obtain any money during the robbery. For more details: http://patch.com/A-xsg6

Laughing Squatters
Brookline Police responded to a noise complaint from Duffley Court; a caller said that a group was outside, being loud and inflating balloons with compressed air. When officers arrived, the report says, they found a tank of nitrous oxide (commonly called laughing gas), beer cans and liquor bottles, bongs, and a makeshift bed in one of the bedrooms. Police also found what appeared to be cocaine in a pack of cigarettes. The officers believe the people inside were squatting on the premises, and were not tenants. Winthrop Road man Jacob Wollheim-Hatch, 19, was arrested and charged with inhaling an intoxicating vapor and possession of a class B drug. For more details: http://patch.com/A-xx47

Find out what's happening in Needhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Breaking and Entering—and Telling
A North Attleboro man will face charges after Weston police say he broke into a Weston store on Aug. 26, then flagged down a police officer to alert him that the business' alarm was going off.

On Aug. 26 around 10:09 p.m., an alarm sounded at , at 542 Boston Post Road, according to police records. Not long after, a police officer who was downtown was flagged down and advised by a man that the alarm at Trove was going off.

Find out what's happening in Needhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That man, Zachary Pace, 26, of 335 S. Washington St., North Attleboro, admitted to police that he broke into Trove through a rear back window. Nothing was taken, and Pace gave police permission to search his car.

A police spokesman said the investigation continues and Pace would be summonsed to Waltham District Court to face charges: http://patch.com/A-xwx2

Craigslist Chutzpah
Watertown Police say a Watertown man whose bike was stolen then saw a Craigslist ad offering his bike for sale. The discovery led police to a 28-year-old man who was charged with stealing a half-dozen bikes, said Lt. Michael Lawn.

Nicholas Alexander Scheff, 28, of 86 Prentiss St., Watertown, was arrested on Aug. 22 and charged with larceny over $250 and five counts of receiving stolen property. Scheff was also charged with Class A drug possession after police found he had heroin, Lawn said.

For the whole story: http://patch.com/A-xvjS. And several of the stolen bikes have not yet been claimed by their owners, Lawn said. Those seeking information on recovering a stolen bike should contact Watertown Police.

Saved From a Jackpot Scam
Needham Police received a call from a Bank of America employee on Friday, Aug. 24 reporting that a bank customer had—almost—been the victim of a scam. The Needham resident had been told that he had won a large jackpot and then sent money to cover the insurance to Florida. Police were able to recover the money before it was delivered: http://patch.com/A-xxpT


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.