By Jim Clark

On Saturday, June 17, police received a report of suspicious person at a Pearl St. location. A woman had phoned saying that her father called her and was distraught that a woman was on his property.

Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene to investigate the situation.

The daughter reportedly told police that on her way to work each day she stops by to check on her father and take care of his needs. On that morning, a woman identified as Angela Grassa pulled up in the driveway of the father’s residence after the daughter left.

It was explained to the officers that Grassa, who went by the name of “Donna” up to now, had been visiting the father since September of last year, often trying to get money from him for various reasons.

On this day, the father, who was sitting on the front porch of his house, reportedly asked Grassa not to park in the driveway, but instead of leaving she exited her vehicle, climbed up to the porch and began pressing the man for money in an aggressive manner, according to the complaint.

The man, who is 86, walks unsteadily. He began making his way to the front door to get away from Grassa, and as he got the door open she allegedly pushed him along and would have fallen to the floor had he not caught himself on a stairwell bannister.

As Grassa entered the residence, the man reportedly told her to leave, but she allegedly told him, “I’m not leaving until you give me $200.”

The upstairs neighbor heard the commotion and came down to investigate. He reportedly got into a heated argument with the woman.

Grassa eventually left, but the upstairs neighbor managed to note down her vehicle’s license plate number, which was supplied to the investigating police officers.

The officers reportedly noted that the victim was upset, and the man’s daughter told them that she felt he was afraid of the woman and that she feared for his safety.

It was felt that Grassa selected the victim for the alleged extortion because of his age and vulnerability.

The police officers were familiar with the woman from previous similar incidents in the area, according to reports, and noted that Grassa has exploited elderly people for personal and financial gain in the past.

The officers pulled up a digital photo of Grassa and the upstairs neighbor positively identified her saying, “Yes, 100%, that is the female.”

Through RMV records, police were able to pin down an address in Lynn for Grassa.

Lynn Police were notified and asked to take Grassa into custody on the following charges: assault and battery on a person over 60, attempt to commit a crime, and felony daytime breaking and entering.

The victims were also advised on how to seek a Harassment Prevention Order at Somerville District Court.