Police Investigate Possibly Stolen Kegs at Multiple Businesses

The following is an excerpt from the Woburn Police Department log. Please note that this is a sampling of activity in the log, not a complete account.

Featured Incident

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Police were called to Rainin Road at the request of a detail officer in the area.

According to the officer, there had been some suspicious activity by two people in a blue pick up truck near the side door of Waxy O'Connors. The detail officer had observed several beer kegs in the back of the truck, and the occupants of the truck said they had taken them from another restaurant with permission from the manager.

While the officers on scene discussed the value of the kegs and the thought that most restaurants return them, they began to believe the behavior was suspicious.

During the discussion, officers noticed more kegs being loaded into the truck from Waxy O'Connors. At that time, the two individuals were taking more kegs from a loading dock when a delivery man asked what they were doing with his kegs.

Police then spoke with the manager of the business, who said he did not give anyone permission to take the beer kegs, adding that he returns them for $30 each.

The man outside suspected of taking the kegs then told police that it was not the manager who gave him permission, but another employee. During this conversation, the manager asked police to have the kegs that had been taken returned to the restaurant. Five beer kegs were then taken off the truck, while nine were still on the truck along with other metal items.

Officers asked where the other nine kegs came from, and the man said they were taken from Legal Seafood at the Burlington Mall with permission. Dispatch spoke to Legal Seafood regarding the kegs, and a short while later the officers on scene were told that Burlington Police would be taking a report for the theft of about 10 kegs.

Back in Woburn, the officers determined that they were going to arrest the two individuals for receiving stolen property greater than $250. While in the process of making the arrest, police were informed that Legal Seafood did not intend to pursue the matter further and the manager of the Burlington restaurant said it may have been a misunderstanding.

According to the manager, an employee told the man he could take some scrap metal from outside the building near the beer kegs. The man was never told, however, that he could take the kegs. The manager was planning to speak with his general manager to see if they should move forward with criminal charges.

Police did find that the many police departments had inquired on the registration of the truck. The woman involved in the incident said that it was due to the fact a similar incident involving kegs had taken place in Westford.

Woburn officers brought the kegs to the station to hold onto until they could determine if they were stolen.