Police Log

Posted 9/2/14

VIKING’S NOSE

Officer Aaron Steere reported he was contacted by “federal law enforcement” agents who wanted to use K-9 officer Viking’s nose to determine that a large amount of money they …

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Police Log

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VIKING’S NOSE

Officer Aaron Steere reported he was contacted by “federal law enforcement” agents who wanted to use K-9 officer Viking’s nose to determine that a large amount of money they confiscated had been used for drug deals they were investigating. Part of Viking’s special training was to detect even small amounts of narcotics on money seized from suspects. Viking was trained to detect marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamine.

According to Steere’s account, the agents placed the money in sealed plastic evidence bags. They then placed the bags in assorted cardboard boxes. Steere said the money was placed in various boxes several time and Viking sniffed it out each time. Steere said he informed the agents that Viking “said” the money was exposed to drugs every time he scratched the box it was in. Steere reported that he later learned that almost $400,000 in U.S. currency was seized.

SHOPLIFTING

Loss prevention at Macy’s told police they observed a Providence man carry a duffel bag into the store on Aug. 24 and proceed to fill the bag with clothing while two accomplices selected a number of articles and took them to fitting rooms and later emerged without the items visible and saw the man’s duffel bag get bigger. They said they called mall security for backup and stopped the man outside the store and, after a brief struggle, held him for Warwick Police. They said the two juvenile women who worked with him were stopped coming out of the mall exit. Jamal Roberts, 20, of 33 Glenbridge Ave., was charged with stealing $300.47. The two juveniles were charged with stealing $247.50 and $182, respectively, and later released to their parents. Roberts was released with a summons.

Cheryl Sherman, 52, of 50 Murray St., Coventry, was charged with stealing $239.79 worth of merchandise from the Walmart store at Rhode Island Mall on Aug. 23. Loss prevention told police she and a male companion gave them a hard time in the garden shop as they stopped them from leaving. Robert L. Perry, 56, of 12 Eleanor Dr., Coventry, was also charged with shoplifting and released with a summons. They were both trespassed from the store.

Jennifer Luke, 34, of 1811 Warwick Ave., was charged with shoplifting at the same Walmart on Aug. 27. Loss prevention told police they recovered $150.75 worth of merchandise from Luke after she left the store without paying for the concealed goods. She was later released with a summons.

LARCENIES

Officer Julio Benros reported that a North Kingstown man reported that his kayak, that he kept at The East Greenwich Yacht Club on Division Street until it was discovered missing on Aug. 4. The owner said it disappeared sometime between July 28 and Aug. 4. No suspects or witnesses.

A Connecticut woman staying at the Courtyard Marriott on Aug. 22 told police the rear window of her car was smashed and a box of Pampers stolen sometime over night. No suspects or witnesses.

Police were dispatched to the Charlotte Russe in Warwick Mall on Aug. 23 for an iPhone that went missing from a dressing room there. The owner told police she was in the room around 4:30 p.m. and put her phone on the chair. She said she went outside for just a few minutes before she realized she did not have the phone and went back for it. She said it was gone. She described it as an iPhone 5S with a dark blue case and they were worth about $900. The store said they did have video surveillance in the store but, for privacy reasons, they were not facing the dressing rooms. No suspects or witnesses.

A resident of the Cedar Crest Apartments on Centerville Road reported that both his personal cars, a Nissan and a Jeep, had been entered sometime overnight on Aug. 19 and a cell phone and a bottle of perfume went missing from them, worth $500 and $90, respectively. No suspects or witnesses.

A resident of Kiwanee Road told police he woke up around 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 18 and found the window of his vehicle smashed and his $200 iPod missing. No suspects or witnesses.

A resident of Adelaide Avenue told police she left her pocketbook in her car overnight and discovered that $150 in cash was missing from the purse. He said she was unsure about the car being locked but nothing was damaged and nothing else was apparently missing.

DUI AND REFUSAL

Officer John Curley reported he was working with an officer from the East Greenwich Police on a special DUI detail on Aug. 23 when they saw a vehicle operating erratically on Route 95 South around 1:45 a.m. He said it swayed from lane to lane several times before they fired up their lights and siren and pulled it over about a half mile from Exit 12B. He said the operator smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated. He said he gave her a field sobriety test. He said she agreed to a portable breath test and he got a .197 blood alcohol content. She was taken to headquarters, where she refused another breath test. Gianna Albanese, 20, of 3555 Flat River Rd., Coventry, was charged with DUI and refusal and later released to a sober adult.

Officer Quentin Tavares reported he was dispatched to Main Avenue around 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 23 for a suspected drunk driver. The reporting party was following the suspect when Tavares caught up with the suspect and followed it himself at 15 miles per hour. He said the car did not respond to the lights and Tavares said he pulled up next to the car and started yelling at the driver to stop but he didn’t stop until they got to the Best Western parking lot, where three police cars attended to him. He said the car was running in drive and the man’s foot was on the brake and he had to tell him to shut the car off. He said the driver smelled strongly of alcohol and had to be held up while they were doing the nystagmus test. Tavares said the test as stopped when he could not do the walk and turn without being held up. Donald F. Wolf, 57, of 13 Eleanor Dr., Coventry, was charged with DUI and refusal when he would not take a breath test. Police said Wolf was unable to give them a sober adult to contact so he was transported to Kent Hospital for detox.

Officer John Larivee reported he was in the rear parking lot of police headquarters when a non-police vehicle entered the lot. He said the car would have had to miss a “Do Not Enter – Police Only” sign to get there. He said it pulled up next to his car and he noticed the driver was slumped down and was not anyone Larivee was familiar with. He said he looked shocked and confused and stared at Larivee with his mouth open. He said he eventually asked the man to stop so he could question him and saw him attempt to hide a can he was holding under the steering wheel. He said the driver claimed it was Pepsi but it turned out to be a Straw-Ber-Rita malt liquor that was still cold and three-quarters full. He said the man had trouble opening the door to get out of his Nissan Quest and thought he was in Riverside and that he was coming from his home in East Providence and was surprised he was in Warwick and surprised he was in the parking lot of the Warwick Police. He said Ronald M. Baker, 27, of 34 Mary St., East Providence, failed a field sobriety test and blew a .224 and a .232 blood alcohol level on the breath test. He was later released with a summons to a sober adult.

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