Suspected breakfast thief turns out to be a paying hotel guest

A man whom staff suspected was a breakfast thief at a Waltham hotel turned out to be a paying guest.

On Aug. 5 at 6:35 a.m., police responded to the Residence Inn on Second Avenue. The caller, a hotel worker, was concerned that a patron at the hotel’s free breakfast was not a guest. The caller said the man wouldn’t identify himself when asked if he was a guest, which furthered suspicion. 

Police located the man, who showed officers he was a hotel guest. The staff was satisfied with the outcome, and the police left.

A summary of additional police activity from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4 is as follows:

On Aug. 1 at 2:47 a.m., police responded to reports of a suspicious incident at Hilton Garden Inn on Totten Pond Road. A hotel guest reported that someone tried to open her room door, but the security latch inside prevented them from entering. Investigating officers learned that another guest had locked himself out of his room and tried a couple of doors down the hallway to see if they would open.

On Aug. 1 at 4:17 p.m., a woman arrived at the Waltham police station on Lexington Street while on the phone with a scammer. She reportedly had made a legitimate purchase and was trying to make a second purchase of the same item. She had called a phone number to make the order but was instead told to download specific software and purchase gift cards for payment. She realized she was being scammed and went to the police before she lost any money.

On Aug. 1 at 4:21 a.m., police responded to an apartment building on Willow Street. A man had entered the wrong apartment in the middle of the night looking for someone. The residents of the apartment escorted the man out before police arrived. Officers were unable to make contact with the person the man was trying to locate.

On Aug. 2 at 12:43 p.m., police responded to reports of vandalism on Winter Street. A woman visiting a friend had parked in a numbered parking spot at an apartment complex because the guest parking was full. When she went back to her car, she found that two of her tires had been slashed. Police are investigating.

On Aug. 3 at 9:09 a.m., police responded to reports of a collision between a bike and a motor vehicle near the Farwell Street bridge. It was raining heavily, and the driver of the car reportedly didn’t see the e-bike and its rider making a turn. The car struck the wheel of the bike. The rider had minor injuries but refused treatment and hospital transportation.

On Aug. 4 at 12:17 p.m., police responded to reports of a suspicious incident on Main Street. A property manager was advised by tenants that someone had attached a camera to the building but didn’t know who did it. The property manager wanted it documented.

On Aug. 4 at 11:36 p.m., police responded to reports of a suspicious incident on Bolton Street. The caller reported that he saw men fighting and then, when they were leaving the area, witnessed their pickup truck hit a parked car. Officers checked camera footage, identified the group and cited the operator of the vehicle for the collision.

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