Police Log

Posted 6/28/16

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

PHONE SCAMS

On June 16 at 3:27 p.m., Officer David Boardman was dispatched to the lobby at Warwick Police …

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Police Log

Posted

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

PHONE SCAMS

On June 16 at 3:27 p.m., Officer David Boardman was dispatched to the lobby at Warwick Police headquarters for the report of a possible fraud or phone scam. 

Upon arrival, Boardman met with the reporting party, who said he received a phone call saying that the Arizona State Police were holding his son and that he would need to send $4,000 for bond. The man said he was told to get iTunes cards and to send them the numbers over the phone. The man bought iTunes cards at CVS on Providence Street in West Warwick and called the number from Arizona back. He later contacted his son and found out that his son was actually fine and realized that this was probably a scam. 

The man told Boardman that he purchased $4,000 worth of iTunes cards and sent the numbers over the phone to the party that had contacted him. After realizing this was a scam, he contacted iTunes to cancel the cards but the party that he sent the numbers to had already redeemed half of them, about $2,000 worth.

At this time, this is not a crime in Warwick. Boardman said because the crime actually took place in the CVS in West Warwick, if the man wanted to pursue criminal charges, he would need to contact West Warwick Police.

On June 10 at 7:47 p.m., Officer Stephen Major was dispatched to the lobby of Warwick Police headquarters in reference to a complaint of obtaining money under false pretenses. 

Major met with the victim, who said earlier that day between 2:15 and 2:45 p.m., he was sleeping and was awoken by a phone call, saying that his son had been involved in an arrest and that his drug test came back clean so the New York City Police Department needed $2,000 to bail him out. The caller told the man he should get four $500 iTunes cards and make them available to the New York City Police Department. The man called the number back and the person answered, New York City Police Department and the man asked for the address. He was given a possible address for a precinct in New York City. The man said he was still woozy from sleeping, completed the transaction, then realized he had made a mistake when he ultimately spoke with his son, who was not in New York City and had not been arrested. He then realized he had been scammed. 

The man said he and his family were attempting to speak with Apple to freeze the transaction. He was given a case card in reference to this report. Major said data pertaining to this crime originated in New York City and the Warwick Police Department would be limited in its investigation. 

LAWN MOWER STOLEN

On June 18 at 10:30 a.m., Officer Dale Drowne responded to Elmwood Avenue for the report of a stolen lawn mower.

Upon arrival, Drowne met with the victim, who said between the hours of 8 p.m. on June 17 and 7 a.m. on June 18 that her lawn mower was stolen from the back yard area of her apartment, which abuts the back entrance to the condo complex.

The woman did not have the model or manufacturers information regarding the lawn mower. No suspects.

WHY THEY CAUGHT

On June 19 at 8:57 p.m., Officers Ali Jaafar and Jason Brodeur were dispatched to Hamilton Avenue for the report of a Dodge pickup truck parked in front of fire hydrant. 

Upon arrival, it was confirmed that a 2004 Dodge Ram was parked in front of the fire hydrant at the end of Hamilton. At this time, Jaafar looked up the registration and it returned an active warrant for the owner of the vehicle. The warrant was from Woonsocket Police for a Nicholas Mencucci, 27, of 660 Whipple Road, Burrillville. 

Jaafar spoke with the residents of the address on Hamilton in order to confirm the identity of the operator of the pickup truck. The residents confirmed the operator of the vehicle was the registered owner and that he was on his way back from Roger Williams Park.

Shortly after speaking with the residents, Mencucci arrived and was placed under arrest. Dispatch was able to confirm the warrant with Woonsocket Police. The pickup was moved away from the fire hydrant by Mencucci’s girlfriend and he was transported to the station for processing. Mencucci was held until Woonsocket Police arrived. 

WARRANT 

On June 19 at 12:24 p.m., Officers MaryEllen Jessop and Joseph DeDonato were dispatched to respond to the parking lot of the Elite Tailors at 1543 Warwick Avenue for the report of a male subject who was giving Warwick Rescue personnel a difficult time. 

Upon arriving, Jessop met with a Warwick Rescue lieutenant, who said they had been called about a subject who had fallen off a motor scooter. The lieutenant said when they arrived; the male subject was sitting on the stairs of the building saying that he did not want to be treated in any way. He also became belligerent with the members of the fire department when questioned further. Jessop said she later learned the male subject, later identified as Bruce S. Monnett, 52, of 224 Unit Street, Providence, had been riding his motor scooter when he had fallen off of it and a passerby stopped and helped him get out of the road as well as his scooter. 

Monnett continued to be belligerent with officers as well as members of the fire department. He said he did not want to be treated and he wanted to get on his scooter and leave. Jessop said Monnett had some scrapes on his chin and knee that he sustained from the fall, but he continued to advise he was fine and refused treatment. 

Jessop said officers noticed an odor of alcoholic beverages on Monnett’s breath, however he was not operating at the time of their arrival nor at the time of the fire departments arrival. Upon running routine checks, it was found that Monnett had a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear for payment review. Monnett was taken into custody and transported to Warwick Police headquarters, where he was processed and later transported to the A.C.I. without incident. 

The motor scooter was towed from the scene. 

Comments

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  • RISchadenfreude

    The first clue that it may be a scam was that THEY REQUESTED PAYMENT IN ITUNES CARDS!

    The first thing folks should do is call the person who is supposedly in custody; apparently neither of these parents was surprised enough that their child had been arrested to contact the child first. In most cases, you'd be allowed to speak with the person allegedly being held.

    Tuesday, June 28, 2016 Report this

  • Kammy

    It is alarming the number of phone scams that are out there. I can usually tell if they are legit or not but if I don't know, I tell them to either give me their number while I verify the information or an email where I can reach them. Sometimes they play along and other times they hang up. The best rule of thumb is to take no action until you have verified the information. And NO ONE will ask for payment in iTunes cards. That is crazy. They have a bridge to sell with your name on it. Don't fall for it.

    Wednesday, June 29, 2016 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    Kammy, there's a truly vicious new scam where a "robocall" message supposedly from the IRS is left on your phone stating that you are in arrears in your taxes and that the IRS is going to file a lawsuit against you, have you arrested, etc., if you don't call back immediately and make arrangements. If you call back, you'll end up speaking with someone with a pronounced Indian or Pakistani accent (hence the scam's nickname of the "Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Scam") who will give you a generic name such as John Smith, etc. They will hang up several times to get the victim to call back in order to confirm the number they're calling from, and will claim they are putting you on hold when they are actually muting the call and listening to your background conversation to see if you're on to them.

    Beware- If the caller knows it's a scam and harasses or strings them along, they have been known to use a tactic called "SWATting"- they call local law enforcement based on the victim's Area Code and tell the police that a violent crime is happening at your address. Police arrive, often with a tactical team, wasting law enforcement resources and putting the innocent victim in harm's way.

    If you receive one of these calls the best thing to do is block it and don't respond- the IRS never calls you if you owe taxes except as a last resort. They do not sue you or have you arrested, either.

    If you have any doubts about the validity of ANY unsolicited phone call, look up the number yourself and call back the alleged agency.

    Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Report this