SPEEDING WITH CHILD

Officer Ryan M. Shore reports investigating a disturbance along with Officer Andrew Leonard at approximately 8:54 p.m. March 22 at the intersection of Cranston Street and Harris Avenue when a vehicle engine was heard revving extremely loudly.

The officers’ attention was directed north, where a silver Pontiac was traveling southbound on Cranston Street at a high rate of speed. Shore reports that he estimated the vehicle’s speed to be between 90 mph and 95 mph in a 25 mph zone. The vehicle’s velocity prevented a reading of its license place.

The officers entered their unmarked Dodge Charger and attempted to catch up to the vehicle, which the abruptly turned into the turnabout at the Cranston Senior Center. The officers pulled their vehicle into the opposite side of the turnabout, initiating a stop.

Contact was then made with the operator, who had his six-year-old son seated in the passenger seat. The child was reportedly crying hysterically.

The operator was removed from the vehicle and escorted to the rear of his car. Officers report that when asked why he was driving so fast, the man responded, “I was just trying to make my kid laugh and I know I was stupid.” He also reportedly said he thought he was traveling between 60 mph and 70 mph.

While speaking with the operator, Shore reports detecting a minor odor of alcohol on his breath. The man reportedly said he had one glass of wine with dinner, and he subsequently passed field sobriety tests.

Lt. Alan Loiselle responded, and it was determined that the man would be taken into custody for reckless driving. He was identified as Steven L. Birman, 33, of 4 Hubbard St. in Cranston.

After Birman was in custody without incident, a search revealed a wooden tobacco pipe in his pocket along with a container filled with a small amount of a green, leafy substance that appeared to be marijuana. Birman reportedly acknowledged that the substance was marijuana, and it later tested positive.

Birman’s wife responded to the scene and took custody of the child, according to police. The vehicle was towed.

Birman was issued summonses for speeding, reckless driving and possession of marijuana before being released.

REFUSED TO LEAVE

At approximately 2:05 a.m. March 24, Officer Louis J. Pezzullo Jr. reports responding to the 1150 Bar and Grill on Oaklawn Avenue after a report of an intoxicated male who had locked himself in a woman’s vehicle and refused to leave.

Upon arrival, the officer observed a silver Ford sedan, which was occupied by friends of the reporting party who had come to the scene. A second vehicle, a silver Saturn, had a male seated in the front passenger seat with a woman, identified as the reporting party, standing outside.

The officer reports asking the man to exit the vehicle, and he complied. The man was unable to produce identification, according to the officer, and was swaying and appeared to be intoxicated. As a precaution to prevent the man from injuring himself, the officer reports, he said patted down and placed in the police cruiser.

The reporting party told Pezzullo she was an acquaintance of the man, and had met him roughly two weeks earlier at the same establishment. She told the officer she offered the man a ride home on the present night, and he made unwanted advances toward her once they entered her vehicle. She then left the vehicle, according to the report, but he remained inside and refused to leave.

Pezzullo said the man provided a name of Henry Crespo, which was checked and found to carry an outstanding bench warrant from Third District Court on a disorderly conduct charge out of West Warwick. The officer reports that the man provided his Social Security number, which matched the warrant and verified his identity.

Crespo, 38, of 1401 Main St., Apt. 1 in West Warwick, was arrested on the warrant and taken to Cranston police headquarters. He was later transported to the ACI.

HOW THEY GET CAUGHT

At approximately 4:30 p.m. March 24, Officer Brandon M. Scotti reports patrolling eastbound on Park Avenue heading toward Warwick Avenue when he observed a green Dodge Grand Caravan traveling in front of him drift over the double yellow lines. A stop was initiated at Netherlands Avenue.

The officer made contact with the operator and asked for her license, registration and proof of insurance, which were provided without incident. A subsequent check showed the operator was operating with a suspended license and had a warrant out of Central Falls on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, Scotti reports, and a check with Central Falls revealed the warrant was active.

Another officer responded to the scene to provide support, and the operator exited the vehicle and was taken into custody without incident. A check on the vehicle’s passenger revealed an active license and no warrants, and that woman was allowed to drive the vehicle from the scene.

The operator, Astrid Y. Ortiz, 22, of 5 Whelan Road, Apt. 3-1 in Providence, was issued a summons for driving with a suspended license and later turned over to the custody of Central Falls police.