Public safety report: Alleged mafia activity turns out to be misunderstanding

Police responded to reports of alleged mafia activity in the city this week, which ultimately turned out to be a misunderstanding. 

On July 3 at 3:35 p.m., police responded to the Extra Space Storage location on Bear Hill Road. According to the police report, the caller stated that a woman had come into the front office of the Extra Space Storage and said, “The mafia came and stole my jewelry.” The woman was referencing missing jewelry from her storage unit.

The woman’s jewelry was eventually found inside her storage unit. According to the police report, the unit was very full, which made it hard to find the jewelry. After finding what she was looking for, the woman went on her way.

Additional police and fire activity from July 1 through July 6 is as follows:

On July 1 at 4:23 p.m., police responded to reports of shoplifting at Mirachi Life on Moody Street. A woman had attempted to take body spray and eyeshadow without paying. When she was confronted, she returned the body spray but left with the eyeshadow. Police were unable to find the suspect.

On July 2 at 10:30 p.m., police responded to reports of a suspicious incident on Hastings Street. A woman called stating that three people were smoking marijuana in a white SUV and making her family feel uncomfortable. Police were able to locate several white SUVs in the area but none had people smoking marijuana inside.

On July 3 at 1:42 p.m., police responded to the intersection of Main Street and Tower Road. A bus was flashing an emergency signal on its digital sign. After investigation, it was determined that there was no emergency and that the signal had been turned on accidentally.

On July 3 at 3:56 p.m., fire crews responded to the Glen Meadow Apartments on Lexington Street. A small area of mulch had spontaneously caught on fire. Firefighters were able to wet down the area and extinguish the fire.

On July 3 at 11:16 p.m., police responded to a residence on Dennison Street. The caller believed that she had heard someone in her basement. After investigating, police found that there was in fact a man in the basement. The caller’s brother had forgotten to tell her that his friend was sleeping over in the basement.

On July 4 at 7:01 a.m., police received a call that was reported to be from the Banks School Condos on Main Street. According to the police report, the caller wasn’t making much sense and was stating that someone had entered his apartment and moved his medication. Eventually officers were able to figure out that the man was calling from Pennsylvania and informed the Pennsylvania State Police about the incident.

On July 4 at 11:23 a.m., police responded to reports of a suspicious incident at Dunkin’ Donuts on River Street. The caller told police that an employee at the Dunkin’ Donuts had told him he smelled and tried to fight him. Police spoke to both the caller and the manager of the restaurant and were able to reach an agreement.

All information was obtained from a spokesperson with the Waltham Police department, the publicly available police blotter and police reports available at Waltham District Court.