Police Log

Warwick Beacon ·

STONE COLD

Officer Steven Moretti was dispatched to Burgoyne Drive around 6 p.m. on September 23 for a larceny report.

Upon arrival he met with the victim who stated that sometime between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. that prior evening, a cement gargoyle statue that was located in his front yard went missing.

He said the statue weighed in at about 75 pounds and was valued at approximately $145.00.

The owner did not notice any suspicious vehicles in the area that evening, there were no cameras in the area, and checks with neighbors did not result in any leads. No suspects or witnesses at this time.

NO LICENSE PLATE

A traffic stop conducted on September 24 around 5:15 p.m. by Officer Derek Mourato for a missing license plate led to the arrest of a driver and passenger. 

Officer Mourato was on patrol on Bald Hill Road when he observed a gray Nissan Maxima traveling northbound with no front plate and a back seat passenger not wearing a seatbelt, and initiated a traffic stop.

Traveling in the car were three adults and one minor. Officer Mourato identified the driver as Erika Morales, 25, of 64 Ashton Street in Pawtucket. He also obtained the identifications of the other parties in the vehicle, and returned to his cruiser to conduct background checks.

There, it was revealed that one of the passengers, Bradford Howard, 25, of 69 Francis Avenue, Apt. 2 in Pawtucket, had an outstanding bench warrant and that Morales also had an outstanding warrant as well as a suspended license.

The third passenger, and registered owner of the car, had a suspended license. She maintained custody of the vehicle while attempting to secure another driver to take her from the scene. She also maintained custody of the juvenile in the car.

Howard and Morales were placed under arrest, secured in a cruiser and then transported to police headquarters where they were booked and fingerprinted.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

On September 30 just after 1 a.m., Officer Christopher Cote was traveling west on West Shore Road when he observed a blue Jeep drifting towards the centerlines of the road. He then followed the vehicle and noted that it continuously swerved inside its lane, eventually moving left and driving on the yellow lines.

Officer Cote initiated a traffic stop and met with the driver, identified as Leonard Andrade, 68, of 7416 Scituate Vista Drive in Cranston.  Andrade began fumbling through papers as he looked for his license and registration, making slow and deliberate movements. He stated he was coming from a restaurant in the Oakland Beach area after meeting up with a friend, and was on his way home.

According to the report, Andrade had bloodshot eyes and the officer detected the smell of alcohol coming from his breath. The suspect admitted that he had a couple of beers.

Other officers were called to the scene, and Andrade was asked if he would submit to a series of standardized sobriety tests, which he agreed to. Upon stepping out of his vehicle, Andrade dropped his wallet, then dropped more papers while attempting to retrieve it.

After attempting the tests, and based on the experience of Officer Cote, Andrade was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. He was handcuffed, placed in a cruiser, and transported to police headquarters where he refused to take a chemical breathalyzer test. His car was towed from the scene.

Andrade was issued a summons for driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test, and laned roadway violations. He was later transported to Kent Hospital for detox.

SHOPLIFTING

Warwick Police officers responded to the Rhode Island Mall on September 27 around 5 p.m. for a report of a shoplifting in progress at the Sears department store.

Upon arrival, Officer Nicholas DiNardo met with Sears security who stated two female subjects exited the store with unpaid merchandise and left the scene in a white 2007 Ford van with commercial plates. A quick check of the area by officers proved negative.

The store provided the officers with video surveillance, which they observed, as well as written statements while officers remained in the area searching for the vehicle.

About an hour later, the suspect vehicle returned to the WalMart parking lot on the other side of the mall. Officers made contact and took Christina Dori, 29, of 15 Harvard Avenue, Warwick, and Tasha Fernette, of 15 Smith Street, West Warwick, into custody without incident.

The officer noted that both alleged subjects were wearing shoes that they had taken from Sears earlier that day. Sears’ loss prevention officers also positively identified both females, and provided officers with an itemized list of the taken merchandise which included a suitcase and four pairs of women’s shoes, with a total value of $300.

The women were transported to police headquarters, and on the way Frenette said she was sorry for shoplifting. At headquarters, Dori complained of chest pain and was taken to Kent Hospital, where she was treated, released, and brought back to the station.

After running background checks on the suspects, it was discovered that they both had been charged with past shoplifting offenses. They were each charged with one count of felony shoplifting, one count of habitual shoplifting, and one count of conspiracy. Both were on probation and were held for court proceedings the next day.

HIT AND RUN

Officer Hovsep Sarkisian and Lieutenant Snow advised the department that they were attempting to locate a vehicle that was involved in a hit and run near the 300 block of Quaker Lane on September 21 just after 1 p.m.

According to his report, Officer Sarkisian stated that Lt. Snow advised that the vehicle was a silver colored caravan with a male driver fled the scene heading north after striking another car. The suspect’s vehicle sustained front-end damage and the license plate had broken off of the vehicle and had been left behind.

The vehicle was located several moments later in the parking lot of Lowe’s on Quaker Lane, parked among several other vehicles with the operator still in the car.

The driver, identified as Victor Rivera Morales, 33, of 16 Tappan Street, Apt. 1 in Providence, was removed from the vehicle and placed in a police cruiser. The vehicle the driver was found in had damage to its front end, and the car’s rear plate matched the one that was left at the scene.

When asked about the accident, Morales stated he was nervous and didn’t know what to do after the accident and drove away. He continued to state he was confused and made a mistake. The victim in the accident was escorted to the scene and positively identified both the vehicle and operator as being involved in the crash.

Morales was taken to police headquarters where he was charged with hit and run, driving without a license, operating without insurance, and improper use of registration. Once fingerprints and processing were complete, he signed all summons and was released.