Wellesley Police Log: Dropped Keys and Stolen Cars

The following reports were provided by the Wellesley Police Department. Charges where mentioned do not indicate a conviction. 

Police received a report of a stolen black Honda CRV from a parking lot on Washington Street. The owner reported he had parked at about 11:45 a.m. on Jan. 23, and returned at about 12:30 p.m. to find it missing. A parking attendant reported that he had not moved it, which is when it was reported stolen.

Officers checked the surrounding area and found a grey CRV in a nearby parking lot, which a check determined had also been reported stolen from a Wellesley address. Police learned this car been driven by a family member without permission of the owner. Officers called in a tow for the grey vehicle, and as they waited a man approached to get into the car.

After putting the man, identified as Christopher Hoffman of Stearns Road, 27, under custody, they checked his person and the vehicle. Inside the grey CRV, police found a bag containing Clonazepam tablets in the vehicle. He also had keys belonging to the black CRV--which police later found in a nearby parking lot--in his pocket. When police asked him about the keys, he denied taking the black CRV, but said he found the keys on the ground.

Hoffman was arrested and charged with two counts of receiving stolen motor vehicles and possession of a class C drug. He was transported to the police station, and later released on personal recognizance.