Tuesday, August 13
At 12:30 a.m. a resident of Ayer Road reported seeing what appeared to be a man in his backyard. It was a tree. An officer spotted a suspicious person walking near West Bare Hill Road and Woodside Road about 2:30 a.m. The young man was a Harvard resident returning to his home. A Depot Road resident complained at about 4 p.m. that a tractor-trailer truck was parked in front of her house. The truck was delivering a car to her neighbor but had been unable to get into the neighbor’s driveway. At 10:36 p.m. a caller reported seeing a black SUV entering the driveways of South Shaker Road residences. Police were unable to locate the vehicle.
Wednesday, August 14
A Poor Farm Road resident called police at 6:45 p.m. to report what appeared to be a scam. The caller had placed an ad for a couch and other items on Craigslist, and a buyer had responded with an offer of $400. But the buyer wanted to pay for the couch with a check for $1,400, asking the seller to cash it and pay the difference to a mover who would arrive to collect the furniture. When the check arrived, however, it had been issued by a Chicago bank, mailed from Washington state, with names that did not match the email name of the buyer. The resident notified police, but the buyer ceased further communication.
Thursday, August 15
At 1:11 a.m. on Ayer Road, police stopped a car whose owner had an outstanding warrant. The driver of the car was not the owner, but he was unlicensed. He was charged with operating without a license and dropped off at the Ayer Circle McDonalds. The car was towed. The ambulance was called to a Finn Road residence about 2:15 p.m. to transport a male to Emerson Hospital for psychiatric treatment. On investigation, police determined that a domestic disturbance had occurred. The patient was charged with domestic assault and battery, but no restraining order was issued. Police also responded to a domestic disturbance on Littleton Road at 4:16 p.m. A juvenile was charged with assault and battery and vandalism.
Friday, August 16
Police stopped a speeding vehicle on the westbound lane of Route 2 at 6 p.m. The driver was operating with a suspended license. She was charged with speeding and operating with a suspended license, and the car was towed. At 8:15 p.m., a Craggs Road resident called to complain that some teenagers were riding noisy dirt bikes nearby and that it was time for them to stop. When an officer arrived, the bikes had already been put away.
Saturday, August 17
An Ayer Road resident called at 8:30 a.m. to report that someone had fired BBs at his mobile home. Police determined that the incident had probably occurred Friday evening. It remains under investigation. At 8:51 a.m. an officer reported that some cones had been knocked over on the Route 2 bridge, a potential act of vandalism. The officer restored the cones and moved on. At 9:33 a.m., a Fairbank Street resident called to complain that buses outside his home were idling their engines and disturbing the peace as they waited to transport longboarders to the start line of their Saturday events. The operators agreed to shut down their motors until ready to drive on. A Mill Road resident called about noon to report that a bike had been stolen the previous night from his open garage. The bike is a red Masi Alare, with a black front tire and a yellow rear tire. Estimated value is $1,000.
Sunday, August 18
A Fairbank Street resident complained around 9:15 a.m. that longboarders waiting for their bus were making a commotion outside his house. An officer asked the competitors to move to the Common. At 10:08 a.m., the ambulance treated a longboarder on Old Schoolhouse Road for a bloody nose. At 4:27 p.m., a woman who had been walking on Littleton Road reported that she had been followed by a light blue van whose driver wanted to talk to her. Police looked for the vehicle as far as Littleton, assisted by the Littleton police, but the van was not located.
Monday, August 19
A Littleton Road resident reported a suspicious U-Haul truck at her barn at 9:37 a.m. On investigation, it was found to be delivering some windows she had ordered, but a week earlier than expected. Police, ambulance, and fire units responded at 9:45 a.m. to a serious accident on Ayer Road. On exiting from the Harvard Post Office, a late-model Forester had been struck by a United Waste twelve-wheeler headed south. The truck had attempted to avoid a collision by swerving to its left, but struck the Forester with its right fender and pushed the vehicle as far as the post office exit, where it came to rest. “If the driver of the truck had not swerved,” Police Chief Ed Denmark told the Press, “the driver would likely have been killed.” The elderly driver of the Forester, who reportedly had become disoriented just before the accident, was transported to Emerson with Advanced Life Support on board and later transferred to the trauma unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His condition is unknown. No citations were issued. At 11:35 a.m., the guest of a Harvard resident reported to police that her purse had been stolen on Friday evening at the General Store. She said she had left the item on a picnic table while she took the remains of her food to a trash barrel. When she returned, the purse was gone. At 1:30 p.m., a Harvard resident reported that her green Old Town canoe had been stolen from the town beach. She said she had last seen it three weeks ago. Estimated value is $300. Both thefts are under investigation. A resident of Still River called at 2:19 p.m. to report seeing a U-Haul truck heading south on Still River Road with teenagers hanging off its sides and rear door. Police looked for the vehicle, but could not find it. Meanwhile, in other developments, Officer Daniele Fortunato told the Press this week that she expected to recover virtually all of the jewelry reported stolen in thefts at a Still River and an Old Littleton Road residence last week.
