Middleton
Wednesday
A major power outage left most of the town dark between 7:05 and 10 p.m. Police handled only 10 calls during the period, and no crimes were reported.
Peabody
Wednesday
Near midnight, police answered a call from a woman on Newcastle Road who reported a burglary. Cash, coins, a Social Security card and a jewelry box were taken.
Thursday
Police responded near 2 a.m. to a report of a break-in at the 4 Your Convenience store on Main Street. Nothing was reported taken, but the front door was smashed in.
Apparently basset hounds prefer the North Shore. A Judith Road man reported his dog Fred missing since early this week, escaping just as his owners planned a move to the South Shore. Police not only located Fred, but discovered he needs a new license and he's run up boarding fees after being found on Tumelty Road. In all, he owed $70.
The owner explained to police that "his parents were moving within the week and taking ... three dogs to Pembroke." He avoided the $25 license fee but was warned not to let Fred wander back to Peabody or the fines could be significant.
Police told a Willowbrae Drive woman that animal control does not remove wildlife, not even the coyotes caught sniffing at her dogs. "Suggested she call MassWildlife for further instructions on how to deal with the coyotes," police reported.
Meanwhile, a resident on Livingston Drive also reported coyote trouble around 9:30 a.m. — but police determined they were barking up the wrong tree, as this critter turned out to be a husky from Lynnfield named McKinley. Police called the owner and advised that the unleashed dog was liable to fines and license requirements totaling nearly $100.
In more animal news, a woman on Bourbon Street reported around 4 p.m. that a feral cat had given birth to three kittens about five months ago.
Two of the kittens were adopted as of yesterday. Police advised the woman "that feral cats over the age of 2-3 months are considered wildlife. But if the woman inquiring about the cat wishes to, (she) can trap the kitten and try to socialize and adopt the kitten."
Salem
Wednesday
An Essex Street woman called police prior to 8 a.m. when her son reacted sharply to a morning shower. She told police he wouldn't get up, "so she sprinkled water on him to wake him up and then he jumped out of bed and started to throw things around."
Patrolman Victor Ruiz reported, "He was still yelling and screaming upon my arrival. I heard him yelling upstairs. ... There were broken plates all over the kitchen floor. He then started to yell at his mother again and wouldn't stop, and this time he was arrested for disturbing the peace."
Mom said she wasn't physically attacked and that the boy has mental illness issues.
Michael Wayne Wright, 25, 23 River St., Salem, was arrested on three outstanding warrants. Patrolman Michael Ball had gone to serve a restraining order when he became aware of the warrants.
Aaron Cecile Stice, 40, 15 Leavitt St., Salem, was arrested on an outstanding warrant after Patrolmen Brian St. Pierre and Rafael Gonzalez observed him riding his bike on Washington Street around 5 p.m.
Stay away, Snoopy. Police were unable to locate a pit bull said to have committed serial attacks prior to 7 p.m. on three beagles at the Commercial Street dog park. Its owner did not leash or muzzle the dog, according to witnesses. Black in color with a white paw, it was reported to wear a blue collar and had no tags nor a pass for the park, as required. One woman described pulling the dog off her beagle.
Isaac A. Williams, 38, a long-haul trucker, was arrested for larceny and assault and battery after an argument with his wife over what Patrolman Gilbert Priddy described as "an alleged infidelity issue." When the wife declared she would leave him, she told police Williams snatched some of her belongings and drove off in his truck, leaving her stranded in a lot near 10 Federal St.
Passers-by called police on her behalf. He was stopped and arrested by state police in North Reading.
Pumpkin throwers on Highland Avenue eluded police around 9:30 p.m.
Timothy Luis Hagen, 55, 173 Lafayette St., Salem, was arrested for domestic assault and battery after Patrolmen Brian St. Pierre and Rafael Gonzalez discovered a weeping woman on Lafayette Street around 11 p.m. A bystander described Hagen pushing the woman against a door.
Thursday
A woman asked police to take away a gun she found while cleaning her mother-in-law's house.
Philip D. Markonish, 43, 4 Emerton St., Salem was arrested for shoplifting at the Highland Avenue Walmart. Among the items taken, according to police: DVDs of "The Wrong Turn," "Drag Me to Hell," "Children of the Corn" and "Dexter," as well as two bottles of Robitussin and music CDs by Taylor Swift and Paramour.
Around 1 p.m., a woman reported her wallet stolen — at the Probate Court.
Joseph C. Poretta, 49, 12 Roycroft Road, Peabody, was arrested for shoplifting around 1:30 p.m. by Patrolman Victor Ruiz. According to the police report, the suspect tried on a windbreaker at the New Derby Street Walgreens, put his own jacket over it and walked out. Police found him in the pawn shop next door. Three other allegedly stolen items were found on him.
Beverly
Wednesday
Police observed National School Bus Safety Week by issuing warnings and citations to drivers who follow buses too closely or don't stop when school buses stop and flash their red lights while off-loading children. Seven citations were issued on Wednesday.
Marla Jean Hill, 47, 31 Pleasant St., Beverly, was arrested for assault and battery.
Daniel Rodriguez, 20, 390 Rantoul St., Beverly, was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Marblehead
Wednesday
A woman on Commercial Street awoke around 1:30 a.m. to find a strange female standing over her bed. Nothing was taken, and police report that the strange woman was "an Asian female" looking for another address.
Police reported a suspicious motor vehicle at Coffin School. A check with Manchester-by-the-Sea revealed that the driver had been arrested in Essex in 2008, although the police report does not specify the charges or his name.
Police suspect the driver might be watching the children. Fliers have gone out to the schools, and crossing guards have been alerted. Police are also watching for the driver.
When a Harbor Avenue man was nearly hit by a silver Mercury SUV while bicycling, he hurried to Chandler Hovey Park and caught the driver in the parking lot. He did not get an apology. According to the police report, "The driver told him that the next time he comes out of a side street like that he would run him over."
Police were given the license plate number, which did not check out. They intend to try again, assuming they only got a partial plate number.
If you saw strange lights in the sky off Village Street on Wednesday night, it wasn't men from Mars. Groom Construction is using ultraviolet lights to check the new roof.
A man came stumbling from the Riptide around 7:30 p.m., fell and hit his head before proceeding on his way. Yet, a check with customers at the establishment revealed no fault by the Riptide staff. Witnesses said the man arrived in that condition. "(He) was absolutely plastered," according to the police report.
Police assume he lived nearby because, out of a concern for his safety, they searched but could not find him.
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