The Saugus Review

A female suspect went into Dunkin’ Donuts at 508 Lincoln Ave., December 6, and attempted to rob the store in an unusual fashion.

The woman, possibly in her 30s, with tan skin, approximately 5-foot 8-inches tall, weighing around 170 pounds entered the store and ordered a munchkin.When the clerk opened the cash register, the woman demanded the money inside and then threatened to stab the clerk with a needle infected with AIDS if he didn’t comply with her demands. Once the clerk refused the request, the woman then told him that if he did not hand over the money, she will return with someone who has a gun.

The woman left however, after making several more threats and then the clerk notified the police, 30 minutes after the incident, not sure of how to call it in or if he should, since no money was stolen.

When the police investigated the scene, there were no traces of the woman but eye witnesses add that they have seen her sporting a tattoo on her left hand between the thumb and index fingers that included the date 1992. She was reported last seen wearing a gray hat, navy blue coat, red-and-white scarf and blue jeans.

If apprehended, Lt. Campanello said that the woman will face robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon.

He also advised people that if confronted with a similar situation, it is advised to give in to the person’s demands rather than risk one’s life for money.

If you see anyone fitting the description, please notify the police immediately at this number: 781-941-1100.

The Georgetown police was called last night because of a disturbance in the office of Highway Surveryor Peter Durkee. The Police were alerted after the person who called 911 said that a suspicious package left  by an unknown male. The person who left the package also “made several concerning statements to Mr. Durkee about the package and left,” according to the release that the Georgetown police issued about 10:15 yesterday morning about the happenings last night’s at the Highway Department Complex at 203 East Main St.

Businesses as well as the Highway Department Complex were evacuated and the State Police Bomb Squad was called after the call. A computerized robot then investigated the device that was left in the area and determined that it was not dangerous.

Zachariah Alkhatatbin, 43, 5 Warden St., of Saugus, the primary suspect, was arrested and is now facing charges of possession of a hoax devise which was a felony, disturbing the peace and possession of marijuana. His vehicle was stopped by Officer Brian Neeley, of the Boxford Police Department  and after a brief investigation, the driver of the vehicle was marked as the suspect. Alkhatatbin was then arrested by Georgetown police officer Keith Deguio and Detective James Rodden.

After the arrest and the investigation in the area, the town’s highway complex was determined to be safe and was reopened by 1:30 p.m. yesterday.

Saugus Police Department is asking the citizens of Saugus to be on the lookout for an individual or individuals who are stealing catch basin grates throughout the Town. This malicious act not only costs the Town money but puts the public at risk.

If any person notices any suspicious activity of this nature we would like them to contact the Saugus Police Department immediately at 781-233-1212. If the registration number of the vehicle(s) involved can be safely obtained it would help in the Police Department’s investigation. However, the Town is not looking for the public to have any involvement with the individual(s) but to only report their activity to the Police Department.

In addition please report any missing catch basin grates to the Department of Public Works at 781-231-4145 so that they can be replaced immediately. The citizens’ cooperation in regards to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Reports of shots fired yesterday on 14 Greatwoods Road at 10:30 pm led to discovery of an assault that happened there late last night.

Two victims who sustained serious injuries as a result of the assault were rushed to the Melrose-Wakefeild Hospital as the police investigated the matter. Saugus Police Det. Lt. Ronald Giorgetti says that the three suspects were all male and that they went inside the residence with firearms. The suspects then demanded money from people inside and assaulted them before taking off  in a blue or gray small sports coupe on Walnut Street with the cash.

For parties who have more information on the case, please call Saugus Police at 781-941-1100 immediately.

Saugus Dunkin Donuts was robbed last Friday by a man who was armed with a handgun. The robbery was reported at 9:17 pm by an employee calling the police about what just took place at the Dunkin Donuts at 35 Lincoln Ave.

The employee said that the suspect had a white shirt wrapped around his head and wore sunglasses to hide his face.

Witness reports say that the suspect is a white man, about 6’1 ft and weighs about 175 pounds. The suspect demanded money from the register and then took off right after. The criminal was last spotted fleeing on foot on Chestnut Street toward Winter street, dressed in a black shirt, plaid shorts and white sneakers and is still currently at large.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of the suspect, please call Saugus Police at 781-941-1100.

Posted from the Boston Globe:

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

A Saugus middle-schooler could face charges after he created an animated movie that depicted violence against a teacher, police said.

A Belmonte Middle School official notified police Wednesday that the student had posted the animated short on YouTube, Saugus Police Lieutenant Leonard Campanello said. Police immediately informed YouTube, and the video, which divulged the teacher’s name, was taken down the same day, he said.

“Any allegation or threat against a school official is something we have to take very seriously, whether or not the intention is real,” Campanello said.

Richard Stewart, 42, of Saugus, and Joseph Falzone, 43, two former Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) employees have been ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution for the theft of more than 2,000 feet of cast-iron “coping” that that they took from the Longfellow Bridge and stored in a DCR facility in Stoneham, Middlesex District.

Police investigations led to the conclusion that Joseph and Stewart Falzone were the ones behind the missing cast iron coping from interviews with DCR employees, analysis of video surveillance, analysis by the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services, and other investigative measures.

The leads pointed out to a DCR Bobcat vehicle immediately adjacent to the area from which the coping was removed which Falzone and Stewart have access to.

It was also found out that several weekend dates in July and August, were used by Joseph and Stewart Falzone to access the DCR Stoneham facility as well as the DCR truck and bobcat to remove the decorative coping which they brought and then sold to a scrap metal yard in Everett for $12,000 a small percentage compared to the cost of 1 million dollars it takes to replace the coping.

The two men of Nashua, NH, were arrested on September 8 and arraigned in Malden District Court.

On Oct. 21, they were indicted by a Middlesex Superior Court Grand Jury and on Nov. 19, they were arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court, where they were ordered held on $7,500 cash bail.

After the trial, Jospeh and Stewart Falzone pled guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on Aug. 12, 2009 to charges of receiving stolen goods (12 counts) and conspiracy (12 counts) and were ordered by Middlesex Superior Court Judge to forfeit their state pension money to pay $563,280 in restitution to the Commonwealth and pay the remaining balance of $458,216 over the next five years.

Stewand Falzone were also informed that they would be subject to restitution and community service as part of their probation, and in addition, sentenced to two years in the House of Corrections with 6 months to serve and five years of probation.

Saugus Police and the Youth Recreation Department collaborated last Thursday and Friday in holding an Internet Safety and Cyberbullying prevention presentations to fourth and fifth graders at Lynhurst Elementary School.

The presentations discussed the threats looming on social networking sites that children should look out for. Detective Sean Moynihan warned them about cyber space predators looking for vulnerable individuals that they can prey on.

As an example, Youth and Recreation Director Greg Nikolas shared the incident involving a 14-year old girl in Peabody who almost fell victim to an internet predator. The girl thought she had been corresponding with a boy near her age when it turns out that it was in fact a man in his late 20’s. The girl was already going to meet up with a friend of the man who was supposed to take her to Delaware but fortunately the officers got to her and reunited her with her family before she anything bad happened to her.

Moynihan also told the students not to giveout personal information to strangers on the Internet. He told them that ‘some people will tell them anything they want to hear — such as misrepresenting their age or having similar interests — when in reality they are much older and have foul thoughts on their mind.’

If they should come across something on the Internet that makes them feel scared or uncomfortable, Moynihan advised the students to notify their parents or a trusted adult.

He also added that no matter how much you think you know a person, it doesn’t matter if you’ve talked to them 200 or 2000 times, the fact remains that you do not know the person outside the context of talking to him or her real person off the internet.

Moynihan also showed a computed program starring two animated characters who shared tips about what to do to stay safe when accessing the internet.

The Speakers also covered cyberbullying and how youths sometimes use technology for the wrong reasons to harass others to which Moynihan gave Phoebe Prince, a South Headley teen who commited suicide from being cyberbullied by peers as an example.

In the end  Moynihan warned that “The Internet is a useful tool and a part of your lives; All we’re telling you is that when you’re on the Internet you need to be safe and responsible.”

A woman named Jane R. Penney, a former employee of Kohl’s, was taken into custody on May 21 when Kohl’s reported her to the Police at 2:30 pm for shoplifting items more than a hundred items at once.

Police Lt. Leonard Campanello said that the suspect used a black towel to conceal the merchandise she was stealing. Once she reached the register Penney only paid for a placemat and facecloth but left the Kohl’s without paying for 110 other items that were hidden in the cart.

When they realized what she had done Kohl’s loss prevention apprehended Penney and then immediately phoned Saugus Police. When they searched the cart an assortment of jewelry, video games, clothing and other merchandise totaling $3,267 were found.

The  investigation into the matter ended with officers charging Penney of larceny over $250.

From The Salem News:

By Matthew K. RoyStaff writer

PEABODY — A man robbed a bank in Saugus yesterday morning and then traveled down Route 1 and robbed a Peabody bank, police believe.

At 9:18 a.m., Peabody police responded to Sovereign Bank at 535 Lowell St. in West Peabody. A white, male suspect had walked into the bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash, Peabody police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said. The man then left the bank with an undetermined amount of money and fled the area on foot.

Details of the robbery were similar to an incident that occurred in Saugus shortly after 9 a.m. A white man walked into East Boston Savings Bank at 317 Main St., passed a note to a teller and left with an undetermined amount of money, Saugus police Lt. Ron Giorgetti said.

“We believe the two incidents are related,” Giorgetti said.

Both banks are near access points to Route 1. Sovereign Bank is in the CVS/Bonkers shopping plaza.

The suspect is described as a white man in his mid-20s or 30s, according to Bonaiuto. In Peabody, he was seen wearing a black or navy sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath it. He also donned a black baseball hat, possibly a Red Sox hat, and dark sunglasses. The man was wearing black shorts and black and white sneakers.

Giorgetti declined to give a description of the suspect’s attire in Saugus.

The suspect is between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs between 180 to 200 pounds, according to Giorgetti. Saugus police believe he was driving a white Audi four-door coupe with a sunroof.

Peabody and Saugus police are cooperating in the investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bank Robbery Task Force.

Those with information that might aid the investigation can call Peabody police at 978-538-6364 or 978-531-1212. Saugus police can be reached at 781-233-1740. The anonymous tip line is 781-231-4037.