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 lesser-known — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
SCOOTER PATROL
On Nov. 5 Leominster police shared photos of officers training on the department’s newest official patrol vehicles: scooters. The electric three-wheelers are made by California-based Trikke Professional Mobility, and “are ideal for patrolling in crowded, tighter spaces, and good for speed and distance,’’ police wrote on Facebook. “They are official with custom lettering, decals and lights. We look forward to using them on the rail trail and throughout the community.’’
ELUSIVE SKINNY DIPPER
At 9:53 a.m. Nov. 23 — a Saturday morning with the temperature outside 43 degrees, Concord police received a 911 call from a fisherwoman at White Pond who reported seeing a man swimming naked. Police responded and checked the surrounding area, but were unable to locate the skinny dipper.
EGGED ON
On Nov. 10, Beverly police received a report that people were egging a home on Gavin Circle. The victim said two eggs were thrown at the rear of the house and reported hearing people running away in the woods. The eggs didn’t cause any damage, but the victim, who reported no previous problems with anyone, was left wondering what the motivation was behind the mischief.
NAILED IT
On Nov. 15, Sandwich police got a call from a resident who reported hearing sounds of automatic gunfire in the vicinity of their home. But upon further investigation, police learned that the noise was coming from a gun of sorts, but not the deadly weapon kind. The source of the sound was a nail gun being used by a roofer at a nearby home.
CASE OF THE VANISHING CAR
There are reasons why electric vehicles aren’t stolen as often as gas-powered vehicles, and some young men learned this the hard way. On the afternoon of Nov. 9, Somerville police were dispatched to locate a white Tesla Model X that had disappeared from Anderson/Woburn Commuter Rail Station. The owner of the Tesla told police that he received an alert that the car was at a charging station on Blakeley Avenue in Somerville. Police found it at a charging station in the Stop & Shop parking lot near the corner of Blakeley Avenue and McGrath Highway, with four people inside. As police approached, two males got out, took off toward Route 28, and ran underneath Interstate 93 toward Assembly Square in Somerville. Police spoke to the two young men who stayed behind and informed them that the Tesla had been reported stolen. One said he wasn’t aware the vehicle was stolen and provided his identification to police, and he was released. But the driver allegedly refused to identify himself and claimed the vehicle had been lent to him as part of a potential sale. Police said he tried unsuccessfully to contact the owner by phone and he was subsequently placed in handcuffs. Meanwhile, the pair that ran away didn’t make it too far. They were spotted by a detective in an unmarked cruiser at the corner of Middlesex Avenue and Foley Street, who saw them running toward him. One of the fleeing suspects, a juvenile, stopped and went to the ground when he saw police and was placed in handcuffs. The other suspect, a 20-year-old man from Everett, was chased into a storage facility at 50 Middlesex Ave., where he was taken into custody. Police learned he had a warrant out for his arrest. All three were charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle. The Tesla was towed from the scene so it could be reunited with its rightful owner.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.
