Compiled by
SCOTT MERZBACH
Arrests and Summons
AMHERST
A 33-year-old Amherst man was arrested July 15 at 7:54 p.m. on North Pleasant Street near Fisher Street on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle to endanger and failure to stay within marked lanes, police said. Urena’s vehicle was stopped after it struck trees at Lake Wyola State Park in Shutesbury and drove erratically on Market Hill Road, Bridge Street and Pine Street in Amherst, according to police.
Day-by-day police calls
MONDAY, JULY 10
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
12:54 a.m. – The source of screaming from the woods off Ladyslipper Circle was not identified.
8:37 p.m. – A large campfire in the woods near Mill River Recreation Area was located, but no one was found by it. Firefighters were called to extinguish the fire.
DISTURBANCES
10:47 a.m. – Police kept the peace between a landlord and his tenant after he complained that she hadn’t moved her belongings from the basement. Officers advised the landlord to stay out of the home, but that he could continue to be on the property, where he was cutting trees.
ANIMAL COMPLAINTS
9:44 a.m. – A McClellan Street resident was advised to keep her dogs from barking incessantly.
TUESDAY, JULY 11
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
5:55 a.m. – A man sleeping inside a vehicle parked at The Notch Visitors Center checked out OK.
2:55 p.m. – Two men posing as representatives of an electrical company going door to door at Puffton Village were located and advised they need to register with the town to continue soliciting.
8:34 p.m. – Officers went to Harkness Road after receiving a call about a parachutist possibly in distress after landing in the woods. Police found no evidence anyone had skydived in the area.
DISTURBANCES
5:43 p.m. – A woman accosting customers entering CVS Pharmacy on University Drive told police she needed help in acquiring her anti-depressant medication after losing her passport. She was sent on her way.
LARCENY
1:40 p.m. – A Northampton Road resident reported being scammed out of $199 when he sent payment to an unknown company with assurances that his frozen computer would be unlocked.
ANIMAL COMPLAINTS
1:17 p.m. – Police responded to a North Amherst neighborhood where a woman’s dog attempted to attack a man and his cat, leading to an argument between the neighbors. The woman was advised to keep her dog on a leash. No injuries were reported.
11:06 p.m. – An ill skunk on Olympia Drive was destroyed by police.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
11:50 a.m. – Police took a report that a man was having a loud conversation on a cellphone on a downtown bench and making threats to the person with whom he was speaking. He was listening to music when police got there.
6:05 p.m. – A woman reported exiting her bathroom at Southpoint Apartments and seeing a man who briefly entered the home. He fled without taking any items and has not been identified.
CITIZEN ASSISTANCE
8:33 p.m. – Police assisted management at a downtown restaurant issue trespass notices to three employees who were recently fired.
LARCENY
9:21 a.m. – Several plants outside a home at Mill Hollow Apartments were reported either uprooted or stolen.
ANIMAL COMPLAINTS
1:25 p.m. – A pit bull terrier that got loose on Tracy Circle scared nearby residents. The dog’s owner was advised to fix a hole in the fence through which the animal was escaping.
THURSDAY, JULY 13
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
2:45 a.m. – A man was found sleeping in a suspicious vehicle parked on State Street. Police determined that the driver was just using his own vehicle to rest.
CITIZEN ASSISTANCE
6:30 p.m. – A teenage girl reported receiving annoying phone calls from a former friend. Officers determined the parents and the youths will work out their issues without police assistance.
DISTURBANCES
4:43 p.m. – A man creating a scene at Jean Elder Apartments was calmed down before police got there.
LARCENY
11:39 a.m. – An Amherst resident reported having $230 stolen from her when she sent money to scam callers who convinced her the money would go toward repairing her computer and freeing it of viruses.
11:51 a.m. – Lawn signs advertising a downtown business were reported stolen from Fearing Street.
12:50 p.m. – Packages delivered to a Puffton Village home were reported stolen.
NOISE COMPLAINTS
10:37 p.m. – Police issued a verbal warning to Jeffery Amherst Apartments residents playing loud music.
FRIDAY, JULY 14
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
5:35 p.m. – A resident called police to report another man threatened to damage his property and injure him.
10:37 p.m – Screaming heard from a Gray Street property was likely a wild animal, possibly a fisher.
CITIZEN ASSISTANCE
9:10 p.m. – A man running around outside a parked vehicle on University Drive had been locked out from it by his girlfriend, who police determined was playing a joke on him.
VANDALISM
6:46 a.m. – Graffiti with vulgar words was spray-painted onto the Fort River School building and its playground sometime overnight.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY
9:33 p.m. – Amherst Police assisted Amherst College Police in searching a clubhouse at the Amherst Golf Club after an exterior door was found open. No one was located inside.
9:35 p.m. – Amherst Police assisted Leverett Police in determining whether occupants of a vehicle had drugs in their possession. No narcotics were found.
SATURDAY, JULY 15
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
2:13 a.m. – Two teenage boys loitering on the Fort River School playground were sent on their way.
3:31 a.m. – Police found two people sleeping in a van parked at Mount Pollux Conservation Area. The couple told police they are living out of the vehicle.
6:57 p.m. – An aggressive panhandler demanding money from passers-by on Main Street was not located.
10:33 p.m. – Gunshots were reported on Heatherstone Road. Police discovered someone had set off fireworks.
NOISE COMPLAINTS
12:20 a.m. – Police issued a verbal warning to people yelling and playing loud music on a South Prospect Street porch. Police responded to the same home at 9:31 p.m. and advised residents to remove a speaker playing music in the yard.
2:41 p.m. – People yelling “more beer” at a Cosby Avenue home where a party was taking place were issued a warning about the town’s noise bylaw from police.
TRAFFIC
10:14 a.m. – A possibly intoxicated driver who accosted a woman walking her dog on East Hadley Road was not located. The vehicle he was driving was parked at a nearby apartment complex when officers got there.
SUNDAY, JULY 16
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
4:04 a.m. – Police took a call from a woman who claimed she was being held against her will at an Amherst home, was being drugged by her son and his girlfriend and that her luggage was stolen. Police discovered there were no issues at the home and that she would be flying back to her Michigan home later in the day.
CITIZEN ASSISTANCE
12:15 p.m. – A woman came to the police station to report being stalked by another woman who also patronizes the Not Bread Alone soup kitchen. Police found no evidence of any wrongdoing.
6:57 p.m. – Members of a family using radio-controlled boats at Puffer’s Pond were advised to keep the boats from approaching swimmers.
NOISE COMPLAINTS
6:39 p.m. – A person playing loud music at Mill Hollow Apartments agreed to turn down the volume after police responded to the complex for noise issues.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY
2:35 p.m. – Amherst Police assisted Amherst Fire Department investigators with looking into a fire that may have been intentionally set on the Norwottuck Rail Trail near Hazel Avenue.