Police Log

Posted 3/29/18

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE On March 16 at approximately 6:37 p.m. Officer Richard Odell, along with Officers D'Abrocsa, Kay, and DiNardo, responded to the report of a Dodge Avenger involved in an accident near 636 Centerville Rd. The driver of the car,

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Police Log

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DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

On March 16 at approximately 6:37 p.m. Officer Richard Odell, along with Officers D’Abrocsa, Kay, and DiNardo, responded to the report of a Dodge Avenger involved in an accident near 636 Centerville Rd.

The driver of the car, identified at Paul Breault, 44, of 6 Morin Ave. in Coventry, was standing outside of the car. He told the Officers that he had bumped another car. Officer Odell asked him to take out his license, and Breault first took out cash from his wallet, then took out his license.

The Officer smelt a strong odor of alcohol on him and Breault’s eyes were watery/bloodshot and his speech was mumbled. He first said he was driving from home, then said he was driving from work. He also said he had had two drinks that night.

Breault agreed to field sobriety tests, all of which indicated that he was under the influence. He declined to submit to a breathalyzer test.

Breault was placed under arrest and transported to police headquarters. He once again refused to submit to a chemical test there.

He was issued court summons for DUI 1st Offense – B.A.C. Unknown, Refusal to Submit, and Interval between vehicles. He was then released to his wife while his car was towed from the original scene.

***

On March 17 at approximately 12:31 a.m. Officer Christopher Cote was in his cruiser at the Stop and Shop Gas Station on Sandy Lane when he saw a car drive past him on Warwick Ave. in which the driver was honking the horn and slamming on their brakes.

He followed the vehicle, which drove very close to the car in front of it and swerved back and forth in between the two lanes. Officer Cote stopped the car on Warwick Ave.

The driver of the car was later identified as Zachary Fluette, 27, of 286 Washington St. in West Warwick. When he got pulled over, Fluette began to run across Warwick Ave. and did not stop when the Officer yelled at him to, so a chase ensued. Fluette tripped on the road, so the Officer dragged him to the side of the road to avoid oncoming traffic. Fluette then tried to break free from the Officer and a struggle ensued, but the Officer was able to handcuff him with the assistance of Officer Jeremy Smith, who had arrived at the time of the chase.

Fluette was brought back to the cruiser and placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI and for resisting arrest. Upon search of the car, an open bottle of beer was found in the cup holder.

Fluette was taken to police headquarters, where he refused to take a breathalyzer test.

Fluette was issued court summons for DUI 1st Offense – B.A.C. Unknown and for Resisting Legal or Illegal Arrest. He was also issued for Refusal to Submit, Laned Roadway Violation, and Interval between vehicles. He was then transported to the ACI to await his court appearance.

***

On March 18 at approximately 1:18 a.m. Officers Derek Mourato and Ali Jaafar were on the Route 95 exit towards Jefferson Blvd. while on DUI Riptide detail when they saw a car swerving, tailgating the car in front of it, and did not have its headlights on. They pulled over the car.

The driver was identified as Nina Mennillo, 32, of 142 Chestnut Hill Ave. in Cranston. Officer Mourato smelts alcohol coming from the vehicle and Mennillo’s eyes were bloodshot, watery, and had slurred speech. Mennillo said she was coming from work and had drunk two beers and a shot. She agreed to field sobriety tests, which all indicated impairment.

Mennillo was placed under arrest and transported back to police headquarters while her car was towed from the scene. She refused to take a chemical test.

Mennillo was issued court summons for DUI 1st Offense, Refusal to Submit, Laned Roadway Violations, and for having her headlights out. She was held overnight as a bail violator.

***

On March 18 at approximately 6:41 p.m. Officer Thomas Greene responded to a report of an erratic driver in the area of Warwick Industrial Dr. then West Shore Rd. Dispatch advised that the car, a black Jeep, was going into oncoming traffic and had almost hit another vehicle.

Officer Green found the vehicle traveling on West Shore Rd. at a high speed and swerving in the lanes. It also crossed over the middle line and the Officer pulled it over in the area of Horseneck Road. The car did not initially stop, but then abruptly came to a stop and pulled over onto a side street.

The driver was identified as Robert Sullivan, 63, of 50 John St. in Warwick. He spoke to the Officer with slurred speech, had bloodshot/watery eyes, and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. There were two empty beer cans on the floor of his car.

Sullivan said he was coming from Saratoga’s bar, although the current name of the bar is Runway 41. He said he was trying to get home. When he was asked for his license and registration, he opened his center console, which had an empty bottle of vodka in it.

He eventually told the Officer that he had ten alcoholic beverages that night. He agreed to field sobriety tests. When he got out of the car, he initially couldn’t stand up at all. He indicated impairment during the gaze test, then couldn’t perform the walk and turn test or the one leg stand test due to his imbalance.

Sullivan’s car was searched, which revealed 28 Oxycodone pills, which Sullivan said he had taken for some pain.

While he was being taken to police headquarters, Sullivan continuously shouted profanities at the Officers, including call the Officers the n-word.

At the station, he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.  He was then issued court summons for DUI 1st Offense, Refusal to Submit, and Operation of Unregistered Motor Vehicle. He was later released to a sober adult.

LARCENY

On March 19 at approximately 1:09 p.m. Officer Russell Brown responded to the parking lot of 2nd to the Sun on Bald Hill Rd. for the report of a larceny from a car parked there.

The reporting party said she had gone into the store earlier that day and had locked all of the doors. When she came back out, the passenger door’s window had been smashed and her Michael Kors bag, valued at $350, was taken. Inside the bag was $20 in cash and her debit card.

The Officer inquired about getting video footage from the owner of the store. There was no evidence to be processed. The reporting party wished to press charges if a suspect as found. The report was forwarded to detectives.

POSSESSION

On March 17 at approximately 7:01 p.m. Officer Matthew Higgins was on patrol near the Motel 6 on Jefferson Blvd. when he saw what appeared to be a drug deal being done in the parking lot of the motel, which has a history of narcotics and other illegal activity.

The Officer apprehended the operator of the car, identified as Joseph Daye, 37, of 7 Dutton St. in Providence. Daye said he had just checked into the motel and was out trying to fix his vehicle. When asked, he told the Officer that he had a small bag of marijuana in his pocket. He also had three bank cards, all with different names on them, to which he said were all relatives and he was holding them for safekeeping.

Due to what appeared to be stolen cards, as well as the marijuana, and because he appeared nervous, he placed Daye into handcuffs and searched his car, along with assistance from other Officers. A small plastic bag of white powder that appeared to be cocaine was found. He was then taken back to police headquarters after being place under arrest for possession of schedule I, II, III, IV, V.

SHOPLIFTING

On March 16 at approximately 6:54 p.m. Officer Thomas Duncan responded to a past shoplifting complaint at the Macy’s at Warwick Mall. The reporting party said that a male stole $391 worth of merchandise from the store earlier that day. They had pictures of the subject form that day from video surveillance and also had pictures from other instances of shoplifting by the same person. A signed statement was taken from the reporting party and placed into Records. A description of the male was taken as well.

***

On March 19 at approximately 7:00 p.m. Officer Tyler Stone responded to a past shoplifting complaint from the Lowe’s on Quaker Lane. The reporting party said that around 6:21 p.m. an older male had taken a Dewalt toll set, valued at $299, from the store and left without paying. There were no leads at the time, but a witness statement and a copy of the CCTV footage of the incident was taken.

Comments

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  • Cat2222

    Clearly we have failed at "Don't Drink and Drive" in Warwick. This many impaired drivers is totally unacceptable. I can only commend the police for the amount of DUI's they have managed to apprehend. I am left shaking my head at the pure selfishness and disregard grown adults have for others. Seriously, you don't deserve to have the right to drive.

    Monday, April 2, 2018 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    Cat2222, with most crime in Warwick there's a common denominator that those committing them are from outside our fair city; however, with DUI's there doesn't seem to be one, other than thinking, "I'm OK- I do it all the time", or that it's not really a crime.

    Mr. Fluette, however, appears to have been in dire need of a fist to the face; fortunately, he was stopped by police before the driver he was raging against gave him one

    Ms. Mennillo, on the other hand, was displaying the most common DUI probable cause (no lights) among other unsafe behaviors.

    Until stiffer penalties are passed and DUI isn't just used as a revenue generator, we'll have to continue to be vigilant for "the other guy" and be willing to take the time to report them, even (or especially) when it's a loved one or a friend.

    Tuesday, April 3, 2018 Report this