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

VANDALISM

On March 19 at 9:19 a.m., Officer Raymond Cox was dispatched to Main Avenue for the report of a malicious damage or hit and run. 

Upon arrival, Officer Cox met with the victim, who said his vehicle had been parked in his driveway, closest to his residence. He said he heard a bang the night before but did not associate it with any damage to his property. When he returned to his vehicle the next morning, he said he observed a large dent to the left front quarter panel. Officer Cox saw the damage, which was significant, and did not observe any evidence that a vehicle had done this damage. Cox said it appeared the vehicle had been hit with a pipe or a bat. There was some black transfer from whatever did the damage. It is unknown what was used to damage the vehicle.

Cox did not observe any other damage to the vehicle. The man said he was not having problems with anyone and could not name any suspects in the malicious damage. He did say he was covered for vandalism. A report was taken for informational purposes.

KEYED 

On March 19 at 8:30 a.m., Officer Russell Brown met with a man in regard to a malicious damage to his vehicle, which had occurred at the Showcase Cinemas, 1200 Quaker Lane. The man said he was about to pull into the lot when he observed a vehicle pull up to the right of him, which he described as a small, older brown Nissan Sentra. He said the two young male occupants of the vehicle were yelling obscenities at him and mentioned something about “Trump.” The man said the vehicle he was driving has a Donald Trump bumper sticker on the back of it. He said he could detect an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle next to him, so he rolled his window up, advising that he had a 2-year-old in the back of his vehicle and did not want his granddaughter to hear the obscenities. 

The man said the Nissan continued to circle around him before he pulled into the Showcase Cinemas. He parked near the main entrance doors of the Cinemas, and is unsure whether that suspect vehicle pulled into the lot. The man said he went into the cinema with his granddaughter at 7:25 p.m. on March 18 and watched a movie. When he responded back out to his vehicle at approximately 9 p.m., he observed key marks to his vehicle. He told Officer Brown he was unsure of who is responsible, but said it is possible the suspects in the vehicle that was next to him may be responsible.

Officer Brown observed the vehicle and did see key marks that went around the entire car. A series of photographs of the damage were taken. 

SHOPLIFTING 

On March 20 at 1:21 p.m., Officer Scott Chanthaphouvong was dispatched to the Sunglass Hut kiosk inside the Warwick Mall at 400 Bald Hill Road in reference to a shoplifting complaint. 

Upon arrival, Officer Chanthaphouvong met with the manager, who said he was working with a patron and noticed that a pair of sunglasses was missing. They were described as being a Ray Ban Club Masters, black and brown in color, valued at $165.95. When he noticed they were missing, he immediately contacted mall security. The manager said Sunglass Hut wishes to press charges for the shoplifting. 

Officer Chanthaphouvong responded to the mall security office, where he viewed surveillance footage of the incident. It depicted at around 11:43 a.m., a heavier set male suspect with a goatee wearing a beanie walking with an equally built female and a juvenile male coming from the area of the Food Court. As the suspect passed the Sunglass Hut kiosk, he intentionally bumps into the pair of glasses that was displayed for sale on the north end of the kiosk. The glasses fell to the floor and the suspect picked them up and concealed them on his person. He then left the area without rendering payment for the concealed merchandise. 

Video of the suspect and incident was tagged into evidence. The report was forwarded to detectives for a follow-up to identify the suspect. 

DUI & REFUSAL

On March 18 at 12:45 a.m., Sergeant Jedidiah Pineau was traveling in a marked police cruiser when he observed a blue Chevrolet pickup truck stopped in the left turn lane for east bound traffic of Main Avenue to turn onto Warwick Industrial Drive. The light for the left hand turn was green, but the vehicle did not move. Pineau said the male operator appeared to be looking down toward his lap, and a glow of what he believed to be a cell phone could be seen illuminating his face. The vehicle remained stopped in the left turn lane while the green light was showing. As the light turned yellow, the vehicle finally turned left onto Warwick Industrial Drive and as Pineau followed behind, he observed the vehicle weave back and forth within the travel lane. The vehicle then made a wide turn onto Strawberry Field Road, turning into the opposite lane of travel, with the entire vehicle on the wrong side of the road. Pineau said the vehicle accelerated to 45 mph in a posted 25 mph zone. Pineau then initiated a motor vehicle stop.

Pineau approached the operator, who was the sole occupant, and identified him as Jordan E. Leighty, 33, of Warwick. He said Leighty had red, bloodshot, watery eyes. When informed of the reason for the stop, Leighty said, “I just live down the road.” Leighty fumbled with his wallet when producing his license and had to be asked several times for his registration. Leighty said he was coming from a friend’s house off of Post Road and was just trying to get home. Pineau said Leighty had slurred speech and a distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage could be detected coming from his breath. When asked how many drinks he had, Leighty first said “two beers” before correcting himself, saying, “Actually, it was four beers.”

At this time, Officer Brian Fontaine responded to the intersection of Strawberry Field Road and Endicott Road to assist Sgt. Pineau on the motor vehicle stop. 

Fontaine said he was able to detect a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on Leighty’s breath and his speech was slurred. When Leighty exited his vehicle, Fontaine said he swayed to the right, almost walking into his vehicle. 

Fontaine then administered a series of standardized field sobriety tests to Leighty, during which he failed to maintain his balance and the test had to be terminated for his safety due to his lack of stability on his feet. As a result, Fontaine concluded Leighty was impaired and unfit to operate a motor vehicle safely. Leighty was asked if he would consent to take a preliminary breath test, which he initially indicated he would before quickly changing his mind several times and ultimately indicated he would not. 

Leighty was taken into custody and transported to Warwick Police headquarters, where he refused to submit to a chemical test. Leighty was charged with Speeding – 45 miles per hour in a posted 25 mph zone; Manner of Turning at Intersection; Leaving the Lane of Travel; Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test; and DUI/Drugs/Alcohol/2nd Offense-B.A.C. Unknown, due to a prior conviction of DUI BAC unknown on Feb. 10, 2015. Leighty was then transported to Kent Hospital for detox.