Waltham man, Belmont teen nabbed in cigarettes-for-alcohol deal

After a brief investigation last week, police arrested a juvenile and filed a criminal complaint against his over-21 accomplice after allegedly watching the man purchase alcohol for the teenager.
Officers arrested a 16-year-old Belmont teen on Jan. 21, and charged him with minor in possession of alcohol after following the teen from Belmont to a Waltham liquor store where the man allegedly purchased the alcohol in exchange for a handful of cigarettes, according to a police report. Police did not release the teenager’s name because he is a juvenile.
Officers filed a criminal complaint application against the man, who is also from Belmont, for furnishing alcohol to a minor. His name is not being released because he was not arrested.
Officers in an unmarked cruiser spotted a group of teenagers loitering at the corner of Beech Street and Trapelo Road at about 7:15 p.m. After a few minutes, a Toyota Camry pulled up next to the group and one of the teenagers, who is "known to police," climbed in the backseat, according to the report. The man in the driver’s seat, who was also reportedly familiar to officers, got out and traded places with a woman who had been in the front passenger’s seat.
The officers reportedly followed the Toyota to a liquor store in Waltham where the man got out of the car and went inside, leaving the woman and the teenager in the vehicle. The man returned several minutes later with a 30-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
The officers then followed the Toyota back to Davis Street in Belmont, where they pulled the vehicle over.
Officers confronted the teenager and confirmed that he was 16 and placed him under arrest, according to the report.
The man who had purchased the alcohol reportedly told officers said he agreed to buy the beer for the teenager in exchange for seven cigarettes. The man also reportedly told police he didn’t know the teenager and it was the first time he’d bought alcohol for a minor.
The woman who drove to the liquor store and back reportedly said all she knew was that she was driving her boyfriend to the store.
Lt. Richard Santangelo, a police spokesman, credited the arrest and criminal complaint to the diligence of the officers.
"It’s very nice the way it worked out with the officers able to observe and then charge them. It was great observation skills on the part of the officers," he said. "Who knows, [the officers] might have prevented a tragedy later on in the evening."
Santangelo said the officers seized the beer and dumped it out in a basement sink in the police station after taking photos to give to the district attorney’s office.