Wary Boylston St resident - second intruder rattles calm

On Sunday, around 5:30pm, our neighbors motion sensitive light went on. Usually that means a skunk or racoon is wandering between the buildings.....or that my husband and I are heading in to the back enterance of our house. It was around the time my husband was suppose to be coming home, so I got up, and headed to the back door, thinking I would unlock it and let him in. To my surprise - the person cruising around the side, and then the back of my house was not my husband or a neighbor.

Thankfully I didn't unlock the door when I didn't recognize the guy, instead I followed his movement by looking out another window. When I saw that he crossed our back porch, I grabbed my dog and headed outside to find out which way he was heading so that I could call the police. By the time I got out there, he was gone, and I couldn't find which direction he went, so I wouldn't have been much help in giving the police any directional leads. I only know that he walked around our entire house. On our side of Boylston St., there is a small "mountain" that runs behind every house. There are no shortcuts to other streets, and no reason for a non-resident to go back there.

Please be wary folks. This is the second intruder in a few short months (that we have been home to witness). The first time, we were grilling, and when my husband came in to grab tongs, he went back outside and there was a guy eating the chicken off of our grill and didn't move. He slower walked the long way around the back of our house, and by the time my husband had chased him off our property, it was too late to call the police.

We would be wise to all be more vigilant and aware of what is and isn't normal on the street. Any folks on our street willing to be part of a crime watch? Or even have a "meet the neighbors" so we can all look out for each other?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kristen Valachovic on February 23, 2011 at 3:54pm

Scary! On which part of Boylston was this? I am near Boylston, down towards the Brewery area. We also had someone recently walk the perimeter of our house (as indicated by footprints in the snow) when no one has any reason to be there except us.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Erica Waldstein on February 23, 2011 at 4:14pm

We live closer to Centre St.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by katina merino on February 23, 2011 at 8:36pm

I live on Paul Gore and my house is also on that "mountain" that leads up to Boylston St. and I noticed footprints after a snowstorm in January that led behind my house and up the hill to Boylston St. It was very very strange... Very unsettling.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Captain John Greland on February 25, 2011 at 1:13pm

When you first observed this unknown person in your backyard you should have called 911 right away. I strongly recommend that you do not go out to confront the person, call 911 and let the police confront him. Even if you lost sight of him you should still call 911 because he may be in the area and a responding cruiser may see him. If the police had stopped him they would have asked you to ID him. If your property was fenced in then he could have been arrested for trespassing. Even if he wasn't arrested the police stop would have put him on notice that the neighborhood is watching. When we make arrests for car breaks or house breaks it is usually because someone called 911. Please do not be afraid to call 911. The call to 911 also lets us know about a problem in the area. Hopefully there's no typo's in this.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Che DeSanctis on February 28, 2011 at 3:51pm

Erica, it sounds like both incidents where fairly uncomfortable to you. It also sounds like you would like to have a better idea of who lives in your neighborhood so you can feel more safe. If I'm hearing this correctly, I too agree with this desire. I think it would be a great to have a community meet and greet. I live on the corner of Beecher and Boylston and know only a limited amount of folks close by. I would love to meet more and have a greater sense of who lives in the neighborhood. I think this awareness of who our neighbors are will foster a greater sense of community and allow us to feel that we are looking out for one another.

Thank you for sharing, and let me know if you are interested in organizing a meet the neighbors get together.

with love

-Cheryl

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joseph Porcelli (Chief Neighbor) on February 28, 2011 at 10:10pm

I'm down! Let's do this.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Erica Waldstein on March 4, 2011 at 8:15am

I will set up a meet & greet for the weekend of March 26th and April 2nd. I'll put out notices to everyone on Boylston (and the houses at each intersection from Lamartine to Centre). It might be a great idea to have folks meet their immediate block neighbors and then walk along the street. I could set up coffee stations at every block to encourage folks to share a cup of joe with their neighbors. Maybe 10-11:00am both weekends? That will give people the option of either weekend....or even both.