Police Log

Posted 9/15/15

The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Warwick Police Department.

STOLEN VEHICLE

Officer Gregory Johnson was sent to assist other officers at the Crowne Plaza at 801 Greenwich …

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Police Log

Posted

The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Warwick Police Department.

STOLEN VEHICLE

Officer Gregory Johnson was sent to assist other officers at the Crowne Plaza at 801 Greenwich Avenue at 11:42 a.m. on Sept. 2, on a report of a suspicious vehicle. Johnson said a shuttle driver had reported a silver Ford Escape, bearing a Florida registration, that was parked near the front entrance because he recognized the vehicle and its operator as having been involved in a hit and run accident at the Crowne Plaza a week prior on Aug. 26. At the time, the shuttle driver said he noticed the suspect attempting to park between two vehicles and appeared to need assistance, so he had a brief conversation with the suspect, who he said appeared to be intoxicated. The suspect told the shuttle driver he was trying to park, and proceeded to strike the parked (occupied) car in front of him, which resulted in minor damage to both vehicles. The operator of the car that was struck exited his vehicle and spoke to the suspect, who told him he was going to turn around and park, but instead fled the scene.

Johnson said the suspect vehicle with Florida registration was reported stolen on Aug. 19 in Wrentham, Mass. On Sept. 2, the shuttle driver said he observed the suspect vehicle park near the front entrance of the hotel and he spoke with the operator, who he told Johnson was the same person operating the vehicle a week prior when it left the scene of the accident. Hotel management then notified police. Johnson said Detective Eric Johnson and Officer Nadine Parmenter were first to arrive. Det. Johnson located the suspect seated in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which was parked and off. The plate displayed on the vehicle, Florida registration, was the same one displayed a week ago that was listed as stolen from Wrentham. Johnson said the plate should have been displayed on a silver Mercedes. In addition, Johnson said the suspect, later identified as Leo Lyons, 53, of 5 Van Buren Avenue, Johnston, was found to be wanted on a District Court bench warrant for failure to appear on a Warwick Police Department DUI charge. He was then placed under arrest and seated in Parmenter’s vehicle.

Officer Johnson said he observed fresh damage to the right front fender of the vehicle. The shuttle driver said that was the area where Lyons had struck the other vehicle when he pulled out a week ago. Johnson then photographed the vehicle, registration plate, and damage. He then asked Lyons about the vehicle, and Lyons said he had recently purchased it, but when he was asked about the stolen license plate and the accident, he said, “maybe I should talk to a lawyer.” Johnson said Lyons was coherent, but appeared intoxicated. Johnson said the vehicle was searched and credit card applications in different names as well as a bill of sale written on the front of an envelope were seized. He said a nearly empty pint of vodka was also found on the passenger floorboard. Johnson said the bill of sale and a handwritten receipt were photocopied and the originals placed into evidence, while the stolen registration plate and credit card information was turned over to Parmenter, who informed Johnson the vehicle was not reported stolen, and had been registered to EAN Holdings from Tulsa, Okla. Due to the questionable ownership, stolen plates, and pending hit and run investigation, Johnson said the vehicle was impounded.

Johnson said after Lyons made a telephone call and was advised of his rights, he refused to speak with police or sign any forms. He was charged with duty to report an accident involving an occupied vehicle. Officer Johnson said he later called EAN Holdings in Tulsa and spoke to a woman there, who told him the vehicle that was seized was rented from Enterprise in Warwick on Aug. 16 and was returned the following day. According to her, the vehicle should be in their inventory. When told that police have it impounded, she told Johnson she would check with the local office and file a stolen vehicle report if warranted.

On Sept. 2, Officer John Curley said he met with a manager at Enterprise Holding Company at 700 Jefferson Boulevard, who said on Aug. 17, during the course of an inventory process, a Ford Escape was inventoried on the lot, but since Aug. 17 it had not been located. The manager told Curley per company policy, they usually wait 30 days before reporting a vehicle stolen to ensure there were no errors. He said on Sept. 2, they were notified the vehicle was impounded by Warwick Police. He told Curley the person driving the car was not a customer and was not authorized to be in possession of the vehicle and that Enterprise Holdings would like to report it as stolen and prosecute anyone involved in the theft of the vehicle. The vehicle was a 2016 Ford Escape that should have been bearing a Massachusetts registration. Lyons was additionally charged with Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle.

WARRANT

Officer Adam Arico responded to the Cumberland Police Department at 1380 Diamond Hill Road at 9:10 p.m. on Sept. 7 for a warrant pickup. Arico said the Cumberland Police had arrestee Alisha Rose Cataldo, 22, of 75 South Street, Apt. #1FLR, Woonsocket in custody. She was wanted on an affidavit arrest warrant from the Warwick Police Department for one count of Shoplifting.

With the assistance of another officer, Arico took Cataldo into custody without incident. She was then transported back to Warwick Police Department headquarters for processing. Cataldo was fingerprinted, photographed, and processed, then secured in a cell, where she was held overnight pending a morning court appearance in Third Division District Court.

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