Trooper Struck on I- 95 in Warwick

At 1:09 a.m., Tuesday, June 7, a Rhode Island State Trooper was injured when his cruiser was rear-ended along Interstate 95 in Warwick.

State Troopers from the Lincoln Woods and Wickford Barracks, as well as members of the Warwick Fire Department, responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 95 South, at Route 37, in the city of Warwick.

“As a result of the investigation, the three right lanes of the highway were closed, consequently forcing traffic into the high speed lane,” according to a press release from RISP. “A Trooper, who was in his cruiser with emergency lights activated and blocking the third lane of travel, was subsequently rear ended by another vehicle that failed to move over or stop.”

The driver of the vehicle that failed to move over has been identified as Christopher Warrener, 36, of Coventry.

Though Warrener “did not suffer any injuries as a result of the crash,” he allegedly “displayed obvious signs of intoxication on scene.”

Warrener was placed into custody without incident, transported to the Wickford Barracks, and held overnight pending arraignment in the morning at Third District Court, according to RISP.

He was arraigned on charges of Driving Under the Influence-0.15 or Greater (first offense, BAC of 0.228 & 0.235), and Driving to Endanger Resulting in Physical Injury.

The Rhode Island State Trooper, who has not been identified, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital by Warwick Rescue for minor injuries.

DUI

At 9:36 p.m., May 26, Warwick Police Officer Connor R. Bemis was traveling north on Warwick Avenue in the area of Sandy Lane when he observed a motor vehicle crash.

Bemis spoke to both drivers involved and confirmed there were no injuries resulting from the crash.

While speaking to one of the drivers, Laurie A. Hall, 53, of 15 Woodfall St., Providence, Bemis noticed “immediately that her speech was extremely slurred,” according to the arrest report.

Hall told Bemis that she “barely bumped the back of that vehicle.” Hall told police that she was “coming from Renegades.” Bemis wrote that he detected a very strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath.

“I asked Hall to exit her vehicle, to which she complied,” Bemis wrote. “As she exited the vehicle, she immediately proceeded to almost fall multiple times.”

Bemis asked Hall if she had consumed any alcoholic beverages that night, to which she answered that she had two glasses of wine, stating “it’s really not a big deal” with heavily slurred speech.

Bemis asked Hall if she would submit to a series of standardized field sobriety tests, to which she screamed “no” several times.

“Based on the above facts and circumstances, it was determined that Hall had been operating her vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and/or drugs,” Bemis wrote.

Hall was taken into custody, handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser. She was transported to Warwick Police Headquarters and asked if she would submit to a chemical breath test. She refused.

Hall was charged with DUI of Liquor (BAC unknown) and Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test (first offense).

LARCENY

At 6:09 p.m., May 28, Warwick Police Officer Derek J. Hagopian responded to the Radisson Hotel, 2081 Post Road, for the report of a larceny.

A victim on the scene told police that he parked his vehicle, a blue 2007 Honda CRV, in the rear lot of the Radisson Hotel on May 15. The victim told police that the hotel offers a parking service for travelers flying out of Rhode Island T.F. International Airport.

The victim returned from a trip on May 28 and returned to his vehicle around 6 p.m.

“Upon starting his vehicle, he noted that the exhaust was excessively louder than normal,” Hagopian wrote in the police incident report. “(The victim) exited his vehicle and looked underneath it, observing that the catalytic converter was missing.”

Hagopian checked the undercarriage and noted that the catalytic converter was missing, and the exhaust pipe was cut on each side, leaving a gap where the part should have been. The victim estimated the value of the catalytic converter was about $750.

The case will be forwarded to Warwick Police Detectives for follow-up.

At 11:58 a.m., May 29, Warwick Police Officer Paris L. Norwood was dispatched to the Radisson Hotel, 2081 Post Road, for another reported catalytic converter theft.

In this case, the victim had parked their vehicle in the lot around 9 a.m., May 20, in the hotel’s rear lot. He returned to his vehicle at 11:05 a.m., May 29, started his vehicle and discovered the catalytic converter was missing.

This case will also be forwarded to Warwick detectives for follow-up.

HABITUAL SHOPLIFTING

A West Warwick man was arrested in Johnston and charged as a habitual shoplifter.

At 1:03 p.m., May 14, Johnston Police responded to a store in town to investigate a report of shoplifting in progress.

“Note: The criminal incident was being actively conveyed to our Communications Personnel via landline by the witness/business loss prevention officer … relaying it to responding officers,” Johnston Police Officer Adam M. Parkinson wrote in the arrest report.

Johnston Police redacted the name of the business from the report.

Around 11:55 a.m., that morning, a “familiar male party/suspect” entered the business through the main/middle entrance. A store loss prevention employee recognized the man from a past incident and “discretely followed” him “to the hardware department, where she watched him forcibly remove a Milwaukee Impact Drill (valued at $299) from a secured case,” Parkinson wrote. “He then removed the drill from the merchandise box and stuffed it into his pants to conceal (it).”

The witness followed him past all points of purchase, but he made no effort to pay for the “drill in his pants,” Parkinson wrote.

Loss prevention employees confronted the man outside the store as police converged on the suspect.

“He was taken into custody without incident and the drill was recovered,” Parkinson wrote.

The man has been identified as Jonathan M. O’Connell, of 32 Saint Mary St., West Warwick.

The business told police that they wanted to pursue criminal charges and requested that a trespass complaint be filed against O’Connell.

“I advised Jonathan that he was no longer welcome on the premises and failure to comply with the order would result in his arrest,” Parkinson wrote.

He was transported to Johnston Police Headquarters, processed, advised of his Constitutional Rights, and secured in a sell.

“Due to Johnathan’s extensive larceny and shoplifting convictions on his BCI record, he will be charged as a Shoplifting (Felony) and Habitual Offender,” Parkinson wrote in the report.

 O’Connell was arraigned later that day and given a Sixth District Court trial date.

“O’Connell was a probation violator and was remanded to the ACI,” according to Johnston Police Detective Michael G. Edwards.