Police Log

Warwick Beacon ·

SHOPLIFTING
According to a police report, a man who recently told Warwick Mall Target employees, “Karma is a [expletive]. I’m going to come back for you. I’m going to break your face, and you are a [slur],” was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting.
On January 22 around 4:36 p.m., Officers Christian Vargas and Walter Larson were dispatched to the Target for a report of a shoplifting in progress, where asset protection was attempting to apprehend the suspect at the front entrance.
Officer Vargas was first on scene, and as he entered he observed two store associates speaking with a heavyset male who was standing next to a small child near the pharmacy just outside the asset protection office. The officer was informed by one of the associates that the suspect had taken a Dyson vacuum that he had not paid for prior to exiting.
The male, later identified as Keith Brown, 30, of 1674 Plainfield Pike in Cranston, was uncooperative and refused to provide identification. He also refused to go into the asset protection office to continue the investigation.
Officer Larson then arrived on scene, followed shortly thereafter by the suspect’s father, who took custody of the child and moved away from the scene.
Brown then raised his right hand and pointed at one of the associates as his facial expression changed and made threats that he would be back. He then became enraged and moved towards the associate, according to the narrative.
Brown was placed in hand restraints while providing moderate resistance. He continued to yell profanities loudly. The suspect later told officers that the two associates had instigated the matter.
The vacuum, valued at $374.99, was recovered undamaged. Due to his behavior, Brown was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct. A check of Brown’s criminal history revealed previous convictions for shoplifting, and he was then charged with felony shoplifting. He also had an active Third District Court bench warrant for failure to appear on a previous charge. He was brought to police headquarters and held to appear in court the next morning.

COLD CASE
On January 24 at approximately 9:17 a.m., Officer Albert Marano was dispatched to the Warwick Ice Cream Company on Bald Hill Road for a larceny report. At the scene the officer met with the reporting party, who advised that around 6:45 that day he was conducting his routine checks of the company’s vehicles when he noticed that one of the ice cream delivery trucks had two batteries taken from underneath the vehicle. The victim stated that the batteries were valued at $150 each.
An attempt was made to identify a suspect using the company’s video surveillance. However, the spot where the truck was parked was not covered by cameras. There are no suspects or witnesses at this time.

MISSING MOVADO
A Lincoln Avenue resident visited police headquarters on January 26 around 12:16 p.m. to report a larceny from his property.
Officer Albert Marano met with the victim and took his report, which states that the victim called a company named Paycheck Direct about a Movado men’s watch, valued at $800, that he had ordered but hadn’t received. The company informed him that the watch had been delivered to his address on January 17 by UPS.
The victim told Officer Marano that he always checks his front and back porch but he did not receive anything and that he believed someone stole the watch. While there are currently no suspects, the man stated that he does wish to press criminal charges if a suspect is found.

MOTOR VEHICLE LARCENIES
Officer Stephen Major was dispatched to the LaQuinta Inn on Jefferson Boulevard around 8:16 a.m. on January 26 for a larceny about a motor vehicle call.
According to the statement provided by the victim, she was advised by the hotel’s front desk staff that her rental car had been broken into by an unknown subject. The driver’s rear window was smashed out and the woman’s purse was stolen.
Approximately two hours later, however, the purse was returned to the police by a concerned citizen who had found it in the roadway on Maryland Avenue. Officer Major then returned the purse to the victim with all of its contents, except an iPad, which was valued at approximately $500.
At around the same time, Officer Major met with another woman who also had her rental vehicle broken into from the same parking lot. She was also advised by hotel staff of a break in by an unknown subject. A Gap bag, which contained miscellaneous clothing valued at around $100, was taken.
There was no video footage of either incident, and there are currently no suspects.

COMPROMISED CARDS

On January 27 around 4:15 p.m., Officer David Thompson met with a woman in the lobby of police headquarters whose credit card had been stolen.
The victim stated that at 11:11 a.m., she used her credit card at Trader Joe’s on Bald Hill Road. She then went to Panera Bread to have lunch with a group of people at approximately 11:15. After lunch, she then went to Aldi’s around noon, and when she went to check out she discovered that her card was missing.
The woman believed that the card had been taken from her pocketbook while at Panera Bread, and she stated that two credit cards – a MasterCard and a Discover Card – and her license were missing. When she returned home, she checked with her credit card companies and found that they had been used around 12:15 p.m. It is believed that one was used at an Apple store in the amount of approximately $4,000 and another at Apple or Best Buy for approximately $7,000.
The victim filed a statement and stated she did wish to pursue criminal charges. A fraud alert had also been placed on the accounts.
Later that same day, Officer David Thompson met with another woman at police headquarters around 5:30 p.m., who stated she was at the Bald Hill Panera Bread with friends when she discovered that her wallet had been taken from her purse. She told the officer that the Vera Bradley wallet contained her license, $150 and her debit card.
Checking her accounts later, she discovered the Visa had been used at the Victoria’s Secret store at Providence Place Mall around 12:39 p.m. for $356. It was later discovered that the second victim was at the Panera Bread at the same time as the first victim above.
Officer David Thompson then met with a third victim after a woman visited headquarters around 8 p.m. who also wished to file a credit card fraud complaint.
According to the report, the woman stated her credit cards had been stolen at the Panera Bread, however this time in Cranston, and that she had also filed a complaint with the Cranston Police Department around 3:30 p.m. She stated that her debit card, two Visas and a Corporate American Express had been stolen and that Cranston Police had advised her to file a police report in Warwick as the cards had been used at Warwick Mall.
The victim said that one of the cards had been used at Macy’s around 2:51 p.m. for $2,343.30, at Victoria’s Secret for $373.67, at Target at 3:10 p.m. for $1,985.26, and at Foot Locker around 3:22 p.m. for $444.129. At the time of the reports there were no suspects.