OMGPD: Exploding Tennis Balls, Thief Steals Bike and Returns for Lock, and More

Protecting His Stolen Property From Being Stolen

On July 30, just after 5 p.m., a young man strode into the Wheelworks store on Trapelo Road in Belmont and took a black-and-red Specialized "Hard Rock" mountain bike worth $639 and ... voom! Like a rat out of an aqueduct, he was gone with the bike. Apparently the successful thief realized he needed to protect his ill-gotten gain. So 40 minutes after taking the cycle, he allegedly went back to the bike store. The supposed thief – wearing the exact same outfit – said he was looking for a good bicycle lock. But by then, he may have realized that returning to the scene of the crime was not the brightest of moves and proceeded to head for the door. But now employees were on his tail and police were close at hand. Police are viewing the store's surveillance tapes and are actively investigating the case.

Rescue Me?

Saturday, July 28, fire officials were called to Crystal Lake in Newton for reports of a distressed swimmer. The caller told officials she was also concerned for the swimmer's safety due to the thunderstorm and pouring rain. Once fire crews arrived on scene, they spotted the swimmer bobbing up and down in the water. The department's emergency response boat then set out into the lake to rescue the swimmer. However, when rescuers got close to the swimmer, he started swimming away and began screaming at the fire crews saying, "Why are you here?" and "Leave me alone," "I don't need your help," and "Who called you?" Eventually, the swimmer started moving toward the rescue boat and everyone returned to shore safely. http://patch.com/A-w4Yr

Bra-zen Swipe

A man walked into Victoria's Secret in the Watertown's Arsenal Mall and took 20 bras worth about $50 each, for a total of about $1,000 in bras. He was last seen by store employees leaving the mall in a white SUV. http://patch.com/A-wBgF

Steamroller Rolls Off Trailer

Police were called to Brookside Road in Needham on Wednesday, July 18, after a steamroller rolled off a trailer and fell upside down on the side of the road. The incident occurred at about 7:45 a.m. A man injured his ankle during the accident and received treatment from Needham Fire Department paramedics. He refused transportation to the hospital.

Gun Gone

A former Lasalle Road in Needham resident who now lives in New York City called police on Thursday, July 19, to report that a pistol he owned had gone missing from a storage unit in Dedham. The last time he had seen the gun was at the unit in 2010. Police gave the man instructions on how to proceed with the matter.

Instant Fire

10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24, the Brookline Fire Department responded to smoke coming from a Beacon Street apartment. Emergency responders made a forced entry and found a piece of wood smoldering on the stove. Investigators believe that a microwave fell off of a shelf and turned on the stove. A piece of shelf broke off with the microwave, and caught fire. No injuries were reported. http://patch.com/A-w5nY

Tennis Anyone?

On Friday, July 27, a Woburn police officer spotted a group of youths messing around with firecrackers behind the Thoreau Depot station around 11 p.m. As the officer approached, the kids scattered and left behind a partially detonated tennis ball stuffed with matchsticks, similar to the exploding tennis balls featured in "how-to" videos posted on YouTube. http://patch.com/A-w8mY