BONDING ALARM

A Cranston man told a Warwick police officer he was attempting to “bond” with his girlfriend’s younger brother when he set off a fire alarm and extinguisher at the 1149 Restaurant on Division St. on Sept. 13. Officer Christian Vargas reported he went to the restaurant around 10:40 p.m. to investigate a false alarm that was set off when the man pulled the pin on a fire extinguisher, which automatically set off an alarm that caused all of the customers and staff of the restaurant to leave the premises and wait for the Warwick Fire Department to come and shut off the alarm. He said the man’s car was seen leaving the area that night. Vargas said he spoke with the suspect on the phone later that night and the suspect sounded intoxicated. He said the man told him it was an accident and Vargas asked him to come to headquarters on Sept. 16 but the suspect did not show up for that appointment. Vargas said he called him again insisted he come in on Sept. 18 and the man did come in to be interviewed.

Vargas said the man explained that he had been working all day on Sept. 13 and came to the restaurant around 5 p.m. and began drinking with his girlfriend and her family to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday. He said he was drinking on an empty stomach and didn’t have anything to eat until 7 p.m. and then only a small amount of food. He said he went to the bar around 10:30 and ordered a shot of liquor, and acknowledged that he should not have done that. He said everyone was heading out after that and he and his girlfriend’s 19-year-old brother were waiting outside the ladies room. He said he joked with the youngster and told him he was going to pull the button on the extinguisher and merely tapped it with his finger and a small amount of dust came out. He said the joking was intended to “bond a little bit” with the younger man. Vargas said he did admit to pulling the trigger on the extinguisher in a written statement, that it was an accident and said, “I apologize 100 percent from my heart.” Vargas said he asked him who pulled the ring on the extinguisher, which had to be done to set it off, because Vargas found the pulled pin next to the fire extinguisher. He said the man, identified as Michael Capp, 27, of 2 Doric Ave. in Cranston, said he didn’t remember pulling the pin. Vargas said Capp was charged with disorderly conduct and then released with a summons.

PIZZA BREAK

Officer Matthew Higgins reported a break at Little John’s Pizza on Warwick Avenue around 7:25 p.m. on Sept. 21. He said a neighbor of Little John’s told police he heard a loud bang and saw a subject running through another neighbor’s yard behind the restaurant and called the police, who set up a perimeter around the store and called in K-9 officer Fox and his handler, Officer Paul Wells, to look for the suspect. The neighbor said he saw that the front door was smashed in and a trail of change leading to the back of the store. Higgins said the owner arrived and reported that some of the change was gone but most of it was still in the drawer. He told police that $400 that was hidden in the kitchen was still there and untouched. No suspects.

DOGGED PURSUIT

Officer Aaron Steere reported that he and his K-9 Viking were dispatched to the area of Midget Avenue around 10 a.m. on Sept. 17 for a suspect wanted for violating a no contact order. He said Officer Paul White met them and they entered the area around Alice and Ferncliff Avenues. Steere said Viking led them into the wooded area nearby and eventually led them to the rear of an address on Ferncliff to the edge of a swamp that was thick with vegetation but Viking indicated that the suspect was in some reeds. He said he warned the suspect that the dog would bite him if he had to go in after him but the suspect ignored him and he let Viking go in after him. He said Viking found the suspect and apprehended him as he crouched down in the thick vegetation. Steere said he ordered the man to show his hands and as soon as he complied he told Viking to let go of his arm. Viking returned to Steere’s side and heeled. He said he asked the suspect if he was hurt and needed attention for his arm and the suspect said it was nothing but was transported to Kent Hospital to have two superficial marks checked out. He said the suspect, Michael D. Morris, 24, of 201 Midget Ave. was charged with felony violation of a no contact order after it was learned he had been in court on Sept. 12 charged with violating the same contact order. He was later transported to the Kent County Courthouse for arraignment.

SHOPLIFTING

A Newport woman was arrested and charged with shoplifting from the JC Penney store in the Warwick Mall on Sept. 19. Loss prevention told police that Misti Nicole Bowen, 31, of 15 Meeting St. concealed three items worth $73.90 before she left the store without paying for them. She was later released with a summons.

Tanya Dannielle Carl, 27, of 69 Huron St. in Warwick was charged with shoplifting at the Wal-Mart store in the Rhode Island Mall on Sept. 22. Loss prevention told police she concealed $74.12 worth of cosmetics and office supplies before leaving the store without paying for them. She was later released with a summons.

Jennifer Ewing, 37, of 1419 Main St. in West Warwick was charged with stealing a white shirt worth $9.99 and a $14 ring from the jewelry department at Kohl’s on Sept. 18. She was later released with a summons and told she would be arrested for trespassing if she returned to the store.

Jessica Symonds, 40, of 15 Hauxhurst St. in Providence was arrested at the JC Penney store in the Warwick Mall on Sept. 23. She was charged with stealing a bottle of Purity Mask from the Sephora display and a black shirt from the Levi’s section worth $26. They said she concealed the items and left the store without paying for them. She was later released with a summons.

DUI OR REFUSAL

Officer Aaron Kay said he was doing a DUI enforcement detail when he clocked a car doing 82 in a posted 65 mph zone on Route 295. He said he followed the car as it swerved between the lanes and then into the breakdown lane as it attempted to merge onto Route 95. He said he had to use two siren tones and his searchlight to get the driver’s attention to pull over. He said he saw the driver put some gum in his mouth as he was approaching the car. He said the driver apologized for swerving and said he had to “pee really bad” and said he was using a Gatorade bottle, now in the center console, to relieve himself. Kay said he had a difficult time getting the man to offer up his paperwork and said he smelled strongly of alcohol. He said a check revealed that his registration was suspended for not having a sticker and he could see that there was no front plate on the car, as required by law. He said the driver excused himself by saying he was “too lazy” and then asked if he could take another pee, because he still had to go badly. Kay said he allowed him to do so on the side of the road and then gave him a field sobriety test, which he failed. Oscar T. Talbot, 37, of 38 West Shore Dr. in Coventry, was charged with DUI and refusal, speeding and laned roadway violations.

Trevor W. McCombe, 30, of 261 Old Town Rd. on Block Island was charged with DUI and refusal on Sept. 20 after Officer Kevin McGuire acted on a tip and located an erratic driver on Bald Hill Road around 5:25 p.m. He said the Honda CRV was pulled over at Inskip Auto. McGuire said the man told him he was a wine salesman and had been tasting wines earlier and claimed he only had one glass. McGuire said he asked him when he had the glass of wine and the man said, “it doesn’t matter.” McGuire said McCombe failed a field sobriety test and refused a breath test at headquarters. He was charged with DUI, refusal and laned roadway violations. He said they also got a statement from the person who called in the tip.

Officer Kerry-Ann Leighton reported she was on patrol when she stopped a car on Post Road for not having its headlights on around 2:10 a.m. on Sept. 20. She said the driver went up on the curb as she was pulling the car over. She said she asked him where he was coming from and he told her a new bowling alley in Lincoln. Leighton said he got out of the car and she noticed his shorts were unbuttoned and his zipper was down and he was burping and very apologetic. She said he failed the field sobriety test and he was taken to headquarters where he refused a breath test. Thomas Hoyle, 26, of 113A Sayles Ave. in Pascoag, was charged with DUI, refusal and driving without lights after dark and then released to a sober adult.