A Fugitive and the Mystery of the Parking Meters: Brookline Police Log

Wednesday's Brookline Police log includes a mysterious case of parking meters on the ground a drunk driver causing a crash, and a fugitive from justice . All of the following is from Brookline Police log or online blog. An arrest does not indicate a conviction. And all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Subscribe to Brookline Patch for local news alerts and newsletters.

Fun fact: A robbery is different from a larceny and that's different from a burglary in police speak. A house doesn’t get robbed, it gets burglarized. People get robbed. See the definitions below, courtesy of the Brookline Police.

April 28, 2017

Shoplifting: An employee at a business on Harvard Street called police to report she saw a man attempting to leave the store without paying for items that he had concealed. The man admitted to taking the items and that his intent was to sell them. He was then placed under arrest.

Larceny: Someone at a gym on Commonwealth Ave called to report he placed his black leather wallet in an unlocked locker in the locker room and when he came back to it a while later it was gone.

Meter rage?: An officer patrolling on Beacon Street observed a parking meter "uprooted" from the tree lawn. It appeared that someone used force to rock it back and forth until the concrete base was exposed and laid horizontally. The officer discovered another fallen parking meter that also appeared to be disrupted in the same fashion.

April 29, 2017

Bike Larceny: Someone on Irving Street called police to report four bicycles were stolen from their garage. One bicycle is black with grey lettering and a leather seat. The second bicycle is white. The third is black and red. The fourth is red.

Nice guys: An officer on patrol was approached by a citizen regarding a wallet that was found outside the Coolidge Corner Movie Theatre. Attempts to contact the owner were made but, were unsuccessful.

Get a DD: An officer responded to a motor vehicle accident with unknown injuries at Beacon and Tappan streets. The officer saw a Blue Toyota with the front end against a Gray Toyota with its rear end pushed in and the front end pinned up against a tree. After speaking to a couple of witnesses and the passengers of the vehicle that was struck, the officer began to speak with the driver of the second vehicle. The officer said he could smell alcohol coming from his breath and it was clear he was unsteady on his feet. He was placed under arrest for driving under the influence.

Fugitive: Officers on their way to a call saw a car parked illegally at a fire hydrant on Washington Street. They ran the plates and found the owner was wanted for arrest in Rhode Island. A woman left a nearby store and returned to the car and drove off, so police pulled her over. They confirmed her to be the wanted person, and placed her under arrest.

What's in a word?

"Robbery" is the taking of anything of value from the care or control of another by force or threat of force. (Think: Entering a bank or gas station and threatening the clerk with a gun or indicating with body language that a gun exists and demanding money, confronting someone on the street and forcibly taking their wallet).
“Burglary” is the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. ( Think: entering a home by cutting a window screen and stealing a laptop, breaking the front window of a store and stealing items on display).
“Larceny” is the taking of something without the use or threat of force. (Think: shoplifting, stealing a phone off a table in a restaurant while the owner is at the counter, or stealing a bike off a rack).