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

HOME FROM THE WILD

Cranston Officer Shana Groeneveld reported a call about an unidentified sick or injured animal in the parking lot of the Dunkin’ Donuts at 288 Park Ave., Cranston around 7 a.m. on July 31. Groeneveld said she and two other officers arrived to find the animal swaying in the lot, with its stomach distended by what appeared to be a bowling ball-sized tumor on its abdomen. She said the animal was not aggressive in any way but it did attempt to approach people, who kept their distance. She said the animal’s appearance was such that it was not clear whether it was a coyote or a dog. As the canine began to stagger down the street, the officers controlled traffic to ensure the animal did not get struck. DEM was called, as well as Warwick Animal Control.

She said the animal fell down several times on Park Avenue before it eventually turned down Denver Street—which is a dead end road—and slowly made its way down the street. She said the animal finally laid itself down in the backyard of the last house on the street. She said the animal seemed to be “in a substantial amount of pain.”

The DEM officer arrived and said he believed the animal was a dog, possibly a husky. The Warwick Animal Control Officer arrived and said he also thought it was a husky, although not with certainty. The Warwick ACO took the canine to the Warwick Animal Hospital on Elmwood Avenue.

Groeneveld said she later called the hospital and spoke with the veterinarian who also said it was a husky, but it was a very old dog and it apparently had been “out in the wilderness for an extremely long time.”

He also told her that removing the tumor was most likely not to improve the chances of the animal and he recommended euthanizing it. There were no ACOs on duty in Cranston at the time and Groeneveld spoke with her supervisor, who agreed that the animal should be put down. Groeneveld advised the vet that Cranston’s ACO would be in touch on Monday to arrange for the disposal or burial of the dog.

THE PENGUIN

Officer Christian Vargas reported he was dispatched to Haxton’s Toll Gate Liquors on Aug. 9 for a shoplifting in custody. An employee at the store told Vargas he was stocking the shelves when he saw a man acting suspicious in one of the aisles. He said he saw him pick up a bottle of Heineken and then look around, as if to see if he was being watched. He said the man looked at him and came over and asked where the vodka was and then the man went to the shelf and took a bottle. He said the man then rounded the corner to another aisle and when he came in sight again, the Heineken and the vodka were not visible and the man had a peculiar gait and “walked funny like a penguin, as if he had stuffed items into his shorts.” The manager told Vargas he was told about the situation and stopped the man as he attempted to leave. The manager said the man told him he was sorry and pulled the Heineken out of his shorts and he was escorted to the back of the store, where he attempted to take out the vodka and hide it under a table. Sean Logan, 18, of 337 Cowesett Ave. in West Warwick was charged with shoplifting and later released with a summons.

SHOPLIFTING

Officer John McHale arrested a Warwick woman for shoplifting at the Wal-Mart on Post Road on Aug. 5 after a loss prevention agent at the store told him she saw the store employee load soap and toiletries in her cart and then go to the pet department and conceal some of the items in her purse. She said the woman then paid for some of the stuff in her cart but not the stuff concealed in her purse. Daniela M. Pena, 20, of 62 Atlantic Ave. was charged with stealing $72.40 worth of merchandise and later released with a summons.

A West Warwick man was remanded to the ACI as a habitual offender on Aug. 5 after security at the Sears store in the Rhode Island Mall called police to tell them they had a shoplifting suspect under surveillance at the store who was cutting packages open with a knife. Officer Aaron Steere responded to Sears and positioned himself in front of one exit while other officers covered the others. He said the suspect walked out of the store without paying for seven video games he had concealed on his person and attempted to get away on the bicycle he used to get to the store but was stopped by police and loss prevention agents, who recovered $179.91 worth of video games from Frank Thomas Boettcher Jr., 34, of 11 Spring St., who was charged with felony shoplifting, was assessed $10,000 in surety bail but was remanded to the ACI as a probation violator anyway.

DWI AND REFUSAL

Officer Jedidiah Pineau reported he found a suspect in a hit and run accident being pursued by Sgt. Stephen Fernandez on Post Road around 8:35 p.m. on July 27. He said the vehicle did not stop for Fernandez’s lights and siren until it reached the intersection of Post and Centerville Roads. Pineau said he observed while Fernandez gave the driver a field sobriety test and the driver failed it. Pineau said he took the driver, identified as Edward J. Duhamel, 48, of 179 Devonshire St. in Providence, to headquarters where he blew a .122 and a .119 blood alcohol content on the breath test. Duhamel was charged with DWI, second offense and assessed $3,000 surety bail and then held as a probation violator.

Officer Michael Walker reported stopping a car on Cowesett Road around 11:40 p.m. on July 21 after observing it weaving back and forth over the double yellow lines. He said the driver appeared to be intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test. Walker said Brian Messier, 21, of 50 Lenihan Lane in East Greenwich registered a .214 and a .206 on the breath test and was charged with laned roadway violations and DWI and then transported to Kent Hospital for detox after his friends failed to come and get him at headquarters.

Adam B. Smith, 31, of 80 Doane St. in Cranston was charged with DWI and refusal on July 30 after Officer Manuel Pacheco reported he was coming the wrong way down a one-way street and almost hit his cruiser around 9:25 p.m. Pacheco said he was on Suburban Parkway at the time and pulled the car over at Seminole St. He said Smith failed the field sobriety test and blew a .369 blood alcohol content on the first breath test but refused to give a proper sample for the second breath. Pacheco said Smith was advised that he needed to take the test more seriously and asked if he would submit to a blood test at the hospital and he said, “No, I’m good.” He was taken to Kent for detox per department policy. He was also cited for the one-way street violation.