ATM thieves ditch their ride and make a clean getaway
Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesserknown — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
QUICK GETAWAY
At 3:43 a.m. July 28, police were dispatched to the Bank of America at 95 Sergeant William B. Terry Drive in Hingham as two men were trying to break into the drive-up ATM. The alarm company reported that a chain had been placed around the ATM and attached to a white 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT — which looks like a cross between a pickup truck and SUV. Apparently the would-be thieves hoped to use the big vehicle to rip the ATM doors open and help themselves to its contents. But they weren’t able to pull off the heist in time and were forced to make a quick escape instead. As soon as officers arrived at the scene, the two men jumped into the Cadillac and drove away on Route 3A heading east, with police in pursuit. The Cadillac then drove behind a house on Bradley Park Drive, where the men abandoned the vehicle and ran away. Although K-9 units from the Weymouth Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff ’s Department were brought in to search the area, the two men were nowhere to be found. Police said the ATM was damaged but no cash was taken, and last we checked, no arrests had been made and the two suspects remained at large. Police said this particular ATM location has been targeted before; in fact, this was the third time it had been broken into over the past three years. Police shared photos of the ATM and the vehicle on Instagram and Facebook. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Michael Gervasi at 781804-2238.
NUPTIAL NO-NO
At 1:26 p.m. June 7, a newlywed came into the Medway Police Station to report that a person hired to photograph their wedding never showed up, and instead pocketed money for services that weren’t delivered. Police advised the complaining party it was a civil matter that should be taken to court to be resolved.
MYSTERY PACKET
On Aug. 3, Hopkinton police responded to a call from a woman who reported that she stepped “on a small black packet that had a black substance in it.” It happened on on West Main Street, and police checked it out. The log entry didn’t specify what the substance was, but police concluded that it was “nothing suspicious.”
TRASH PANDA EVICTION
On the morning of Aug. 2, Bedford police received a call from an employee of a physical therapy office on Great Road reporting that an unknown animal was occupying the dumpster outside. An officer was dispatched to the scene and quickly dislodged more than one culprit, escorting a family of raccoons out from the dumpster.
MISCHIEF MAKING
At 1:45 a.m. July 20, Bridgewater police got a call about people being on the roof of Roche Bros. supermarket. It turned out to be juveniles (surprise, surprise), and police reported that the youngsters’ parents were coming to the grocery store to get them.
MORE DUCKLINGS RESCUED
Loyal readers of this column know that ducklings have a tendency to get trapped in storm drains. Mother ducks can walk across the grates without any problem, but their babies are small enough to fall through the openings. That’s what happened in Lexington on June 24. Firefighters rescued three ducklings that were trapped in a storm drain and successfully reunited them with their mother. A similar situation played out in Norfolk in May, when an eagleeyed resident noticed two ducklings fall through a storm drain grate in town. Firefighters and Animal Control Officer Hilary Cohen managed to get the ducklings out. Cohen then spent over an hour trying to locate the mother duck, but had no luck. But she made sure the ducklings got to a safe place, and put them in the care of professional wildlife rehabilitators.