Woman Believes Mayoral Race Caused Car Vandalism

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 -

An officer was called to Stop & Shop for a report of vandalism of a motor vehicle. The victim told the officer that she parked her Honda Accord in the lot at around 8:50 a.m.

She said she went in the bank and then went into the store, where she remained for about one hour. The woman then said she came back and noticed someone had keyed her vehicle.

“There was no way the damage was done by accident,” the officer noted in his report. 

The calling party said she thinks her car was keyed because of the bumper sticker on her back window, which said “Flaherty for Mayor.” The woman said John Flaherty is related to her and she felt she was targeted because of that. She added that she and her children have been threatened numerous times because of the campaign.

The officer watched the security video of the parking lot, but the cameras did not show her vehicle. The video did, however, show a heavy set white male walking very fast from the area where the car was parked. The man looked back towards the area where the car was parked as he walked away at a fast pace towards Elm Street. It does not appear he drove to the area because he never got into a car.

Additional Incident -

Saturday, August 24

An officer was asked to come to Ran Drive for a report of illegal dumping. The resident brought the officer down to the cul-de-sac and showed where someone had been throwing trash.

There was a man sitting in the edge of the wood line who has mental health issues and lives in a group home nearby. The caller believed the man had been going through the trash and when he was done with items he throws them over the embankment.

The group home was notified, and they told police they check on the man every 30 minutes or so.