Police: Wayland Man Filed a False Stolen Car Report

Police responded to a Pleasant Street residence Monday morning to investigate a report of a stolen car. By Monday afternoon, police had determined that a Wayland man living at the residence should be charged with filing a false report.

Wayland Police say 18-year-old James Griffin allowed his mother and grandmother to believe the grandmother's Buick Century had been stolen when, in fact, Griffin had taken the car after becoming upset about damage he'd done to the garage where it was housed.

According to a Wayland police press release, police arrived at the scene of the reported theft to find one side of the garage windows had been shot out by what appeared to be a BB gun.

Det. Sgt. Jamie Berger said Griffin asked to speak with officers privately and was taken to the police station for an interview. There he told police he had been shooting at the garage with his BB guns and had broken the windows.

Berger said Griffin told police he shot out the windows and then wanted to buy cigarettes, so he took the car, a Buick Century, to a Walgreens in Framingham. While in Framingham, the car broke down. Griffin pushed the car to the side of the road and returned home.

The next morning, Griffin, who lives at the Pleasant Street address with his grandmother and mother, did not tell the women what had happened to the car when they awoke to find it missing and called police.

Griffin will be charged in Framingham District Court with filing a false police report, use of a motor vehicle without authority and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.