POLICE NEWS

Police log 12-16-21

Posted 12/16/21

Warwick Police Log DUI At 5:24 p.m., Nov. 27, Warwick Police officers were dispatched to the area of 1370 Post Road to investigate a report of a motor vehicle operating erratically. The reporting party told police that they were traveling behind a

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POLICE NEWS

Police log 12-16-21

Posted

 DUI

At 5:24 p.m., Nov. 27, Warwick Police officers were dispatched to the area of 1370 Post Road to investigate a report of a motor vehicle operating erratically.

The reporting party told police that they were traveling behind a northbound silver Honda CRV on Post Road when the vehicle crossed over the double yellow line and ran red lights.

The witness followed the vehicle until it turned left onto Chambley Avenue.

Police initiated a traffic stop.

The driver was identified as Erik Melo, 35, 19 Ames Baker Way, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Police asked Melo if he had anything to drink. He told them he hadn’t.

“I asked if he had ingested any other illicit substance, to which he replied ‘no, I smoked weed but that was a while ago,’” Officer Derek J. Hagopian wrote in the police incident report. “I asked what time Melo believes he smoked marijuana, to which he replied ‘after (he) woke up, around 1 o’clock.’”

Police asked Melo to submit to a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and he agreed, according to the report.

“Based on the driving behavior as reported by the original reporting party, the moving violation observed by Officer Bratko, personal contact with Melo, his admission to smoking marijuana earlier in the day, and his performance on SFSTs, it was determined that Melo would be placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance,” Hagopian wrote in the report.

Melo was cuffed and read his rights.

Police said that Melo also told police he took Xanax (alprazolam) earlier in the day.

“When I asked how much he ingested, Melo stated ‘a half a bar, maybe like 1 milligram,’” Hagopian wrote. “It should be noted that a ‘bar’ is slang and refers to a Xanax pill. Melo stated that he does not have a prescription for Xanax (Alprazolam) ‘yet.’”

Police searched Melo’s vehicle, and said they found a prescription bottle containing one Xanax pill and bearing someone else’s name, and a bag containing “a green leafy substance, which based on training and experience, was suspected to be marijuana.”

Ultimately, Melo was charged with one count of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor/Drugs – BAC Unknown, Possession of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance (10 grams or less), and one count of Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test. Melo also received mandatory court appearances at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal for charges of Laned Roadway Violations and Possession of Marijuana.

LARCENY

At 8:53 a.m. on Nov. 28, Warwick Police responded to 35 Cedar Pond Drive, Building 18, for a reported larceny and vandalism complaint involving rims taken off a car and smashed windows.

Police located a gray 2018 Honda CRV parked between two buildings in the northern parking lot near the woodline.

The vehicle was propped on two cinder blocks, all four rims and tires were missing and the passenger side window was completely smashed out.

The owner was located and told police she would like to file criminal charges if a suspect is located.

All four of the rims were described as OEM gray alloy Honda rims with a “Honda” logo in the center, each valued at $600.

The case was forwarded to the Detective Bureau for further investigation.

police, crime

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