POLICE NEWS

Police Log 10/21/21

Posted 10/21/21

DUI Just before 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, Officer Connor Bemis was traveling north on Post Road near Airport Road when dispatch advised of a possibly erratic operator heading west on Airport Road. Bemis observed the vehicle in question, a gray Honda, as it

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POLICE NEWS

Police Log 10/21/21

Posted

DUI

Just before 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, Officer Connor Bemis was traveling north on Post Road near Airport Road when dispatch advised of a possibly erratic operator heading west on Airport Road.

Bemis observed the vehicle in question, a gray Honda, as it turned north onto Post Road.

“While directly behind the vehicle, I observed it to cross the dotted white lines into the right hand land of travel with both passenger side tires several times in an erratic manner … I further observed the vehicle to be traveling at an extremely low rate of speed,” the officer reports.

Bemis initiated a stop and made contact with the Honda’s operator, who reportedly slurred his speech and exhibited “bloodshot, watery eyes.” The officer also detected a “strong odor” of alcohol on the man’s breath.

The operator is said to have acknowledged consuming alcohol that night and agreed to undergo field sobriety testing, which he reportedly failed. Bemis reports the operator then agreed to submit to a preliminary breath test, which is said to have shown a blood alcohol content significantly above the legal limit.

SHOPLIFTING

Just before 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 9, Officer Brian Holleran responded to Ulta Beauty on Bald Hill Road for a report of a prior shoplifting incident.

At the scene, the assistant manager at the store told Holleran that shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 8, a woman had entered the store, concealed multiple items in her purse and then exited without making any attempt to pay. The stolen items included eye creams, face primers and fragrances with a combined value of roughly $540. The assistant manager told Holleran the suspect was familiar to store staff based on prior shoplifting incidents.

Holleran reports he reviewed security camera footage with store employees, and based on a cross-check with police records, the suspect was identified. A warrant was sought for the suspect’s arrest on a charge of shoplifting.

Just after 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, Officer Sara Goes responded to Ulta Beauty for a report of shoplifting. The female suspect was said to have left the area in a blue Hyundai sedan.

At the scene, managers at the store advised Goes that the suspect was known to Ulta staff based on prior shoplifting incidents, including the Sept. 8 incident investigated by Holleran. Goes reports that based on a review of security camera footage and police records, the suspect in the Sept. 29 incident was positively identified as the same woman.

The suspect was reportedly accompanied by another, unidentified woman during the incident. She is said to have concealed a container of cosmetic cream with a value of $39.50 in her purse before exiting the store without making any attempt to pay for it. The suspect is said to have paid for one item, a wash cloth valued at $7.49.

Based on Goes’s investigation, a warrant was issued for the suspect’s arrest on a charge of shoplifting.

Just after 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, Goes and Officer Johnathan DiPietro responded to Ulta Beauty for a report of a shoplifting incident in progress. A manager at the store told dispatch that the suspect was the same woman involved in the Sept. 8 and Sept. 29 incidents.

Upon arrival at the scene, the officers located the suspect still inside the store and took her into custody on the active arrest warrants for shoplifting.

Carla Paola Castellanos, 28, 106 Gesler St., Apt. 3, Providence, was transported to Warwick Police headquarters for processing. She was later released with a summons to appear in Third Division District Court on the shoplifting charges.

LARCENY

At approximately 6:47 a.m. on Aug. 18, Officer Connor Bemis responded to the Lowe’s at 555 Greenwich Ave. for a report of a cell phone being stolen from a vehicle.

At the scene, the reporting party told Bemis he had arrived at the Lowe’s at approximately 6 a.m. in his 2014 Chevy Silverado. He entered the store at about 6:15 a.m. and returned to the vehicle roughly 25 minutes later. At that point, he discovered that his cell phone and phone charger – with a combined value of approximately $400 – had been taken from the vehicle. The vehicle’s rear window had been left slightly open, the reporting party told the officer.

Bemis then went inside Lowe’s seeking to review security camera footage. Shortly thereafter, staff at the store advised that a possible suspect in the phone theft – a man “who had just been caught in an attempted shoplifting” involving “a large amount of wiring,” the officer’s report reads – had left the store and was getting into a 2005 Mercury in the parking lot.

Bemis observed the man in question and responded to his location. The man is said to have acknowledged the attempted shoplifting but denied stealing the phone. “He gave me consent to search his person and his backpack, both of which yielded negative results for the phone,” the officer reports.

Lowe’s did not wish to pursue charges related to the attempted shoplifting, Bemis reports, so the man was released with a no-trespassing order for the store.

Bemis documented the matter and forwarded it to detectives for additional investigation. Detective Christian Vargas reports that he obtained security camera footage from Lowe’s on Aug. 24, and based on a review of the video, the man involved in the attempted shoplifting was identified as the suspect in the cell phone theft. A warrant was then issued for the man’s arrest on a charge of larceny under $1,500.

At approximately 12:18 p.m. on Oct. 2, Officer Jordan Guyton responded to Rhode Island State Police headquarters in Scituate to take custody of Michael G. Lunsmann, 42, 53 Maple Ave., West Warwick, on the warrant. Lunsmann was transported to Warwick Police headquarters for processing and later taken to the Adult Correctional Institutions.

***

At approximately 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 29, Officer Gian Micheletti responded to the lobby of Warwick Police headquarters to meet with a reporting party regarding a larceny complaint.

The reporting party told Micheletti the catalytic converter from his 2006 Honda CRV had been stolen earlier that day. He said his vehicle had been parked outside his Spring Green Road home sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. When he started the vehicle in the afternoon, “he noticed it sounded extremely loud” and discovered the damage.

No security camera footage was immediately available. The matter was documented for insurance purposes.

***

At approximately 6:13 p.m. on Sept. 29, Officer Johnathan DiPietro responded to a Whippoorwill Road home for a report of larceny.

At the scene, the reporting party told the officer that when he returned from work that day, he discovered the muffler was hanging off of his Ford F250. He then discovered the vehicle’s catalytic converter had been stolen. It was unclear when the theft had occurred, although the reporting party said he had last driven the vehicle on Sept. 1.

No security camera footage was immediately available. The matter was documented. ***

Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, Officer Robert Canis-Langlais responded to the parking lot of the Showcase Cinemas at 1200 Quaker Lane for a report of larceny.

At the scene, the reporting party told the officer she had parked her Subaru Outback in the lot at 6:15 a.m. while she attended a fitness class. When she returned to the vehicle at approximately 7:15 a.m., she found that its front passenger-side window had been smashed. Missing from the vehicle were a MacBook Air, phone charger and $20 bill. The computer was valued at approximately $799.

No additional information was immediately available. The matter was documented.

***

Just after 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, Officer Nia Pina responded to a North Fair Street home for a report of larceny.

At the scene, the reporting party told Pina he had parked his 2000 Honda Element outside his home on Sept. 30. When he next started the vehicle on Oct. 2, “it sounded very loud,” and a visual inspection found the catalytic converter had been cut out. The converter was valued at approximately $1,200.

No security camera footage was immediately available. The matter was documented and forwarded to detectives.

VEHICLE TAMPERING

Shortly before 1 p.m. on Oct. 6, Officer Zachary Black responded to the Dave’s Market warehouse at 111 Kilvert St. for a report of malicious damage to a vehicle.

At the scene, a manager told black that a 2009 Ford E250 work van had been parked on the property at approximately 4 p.m. on Oct. 1. Then, at approximately 11 a.m. on Oct. 6, it was discovered that the vehicle’s driver’s door and ignition had been damaged, “with the ignition system ripped from the steering column.”

Security camera footage from the area was not immediately available. The matter was documented.

PHONE SCAM

Just after 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, Officer David Babcock responded to the Crowne Plaza hotel on Greenwich Avenue for a report of suspicious activity in progress.

At the scene, the hotel’s manager told Babcock that two separate guests had reported receiving phone calls from an unknown person claiming to be from the front desk and asking for credit card information. The manager said during the calls, “threats were made toward the hotel guests when credit card information was not given.”

Babcock then spoke with guests who had received the calls, who confirmed the details. One man told Babcock he had provided the caller with his credit card information, and he was subsequently altered by his credit card company of a $528.70 charge for Straight Talk Airtime calling cards. That transaction was canceled before it was processed.

During Babcock’s investigation, the hotel manager advised that complaints about the calls continued to come in.

Hotel guests were advised of the situation and the matter was documented.

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