Police Log: High-Speed Chases & Taylor Swift Swindle

by | Jun 4, 2023

Monday, May 22

8:50 a.m. – Police cited an East Providence man for driving with a suspended registration and without an active driver’s license. The man told police he had recently bought the car and put an old plate on it but couldn’t provide the officers with a bill of sale. He also said he didn’t know his driver’s license was suspended. In addition to the tickets, police had the car towed. 

10:43 a.m. – An EG resident believes a neighbor’s cat bit her 5-year-old cat. The cat that received the bite will be quarantined for 45 days because the feline is past due on its rabies vaccine. 

6:36 p.m. – A Frenchtown Road resident told police a man was taking pictures of her property. She said the man was taking pictures at the request of his boss, the owner of a landscaping company.  The woman told him to leave and took videos of him and his truck, which had a phone number on the side. Police reached out to the number on the man’s truck but the person who answered questioned whether it was really police calling and did not answer when asked why he’d told someone to take photos of this house and one other. Both houses happen to be for sale, but are listed with different companies.

9:25 p.m. – A Marlborough Street resident accused his neighbor of hacking his electronics. 

Tuesday, May 23

10:10 a.m. – An EG homeowner complained about a neighbor’s dog barking for 30 minutes to an hour daily. The dog’s owner said they let the dog out every afternoon after being inside all day but will try to rectify the barking. 

11:52 a.m. – A Main Street store owner told police they wanted an abandoned motorcycle removed from near their business. Police contacted the owner of the bike, who said he’d move it that day. 

11:47 a.m. – Police arrested an EG resident, 24, on a warrant. 

11:50 a.m. – EGPD officers checked out oil in the water near Blu on the Water. Police informed EGFD and DEM about the possible spill. A member of the DEM contacted the US Coast Guard, who ended up not getting involved after responders determined the spill to be roughly 30 gallons. Police believe the spill came from a boat that flushed its fuel.

5:18 p.m. – Police arrested a Coventy man, 31, after he was involved in a minor traffic accident with another car. During a routine check on both drivers, police discovered that the Coventry man’s license was suspended and he had three previous suspended license convictions. Given that this was his fourth offense, police arrested him. EGPD officers also cited the man for driving an unregistered vehicle and driving without proof of insurance. 

8:54 p.m. – An EG resident, 36, was taken into custody on two misdemeanor warrants –  one for obstruction and the other for attempted attempted robbery following an incident May 12 in which he allegedly interfered with a police stop (find that log entry from May 12 at 11:34 p.m. HERE). The man was confused by the arrest, according to the report. He was handcuffed and taken to the station for processing.

Wednesday, May 24

8:30 a.m. – A caller told police a raccoon was in the street on Middle Road “acting odd,” according to police logs.

9:18 a.m. – Officials reported euthanizing a 9-year-old cat after it bit a veterinary technician at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists the previous day. The vet tech was not wearing protective gear. The cat was up to date on its rabies vaccine but was still sent to the RI Department of Health to be tested.

3:20 p.m. – An EG woman told police she was scammed out of $2,100 while trying to get Taylor Swift concert tickets. At around 3 p.m. on the day of the show (May 21st), the woman found someone selling tickets on Facebook. The person told her to send $600 to a Venmo account and then repeat the process to get the second ticket, but she couldn’t because the account was “flagged.” She then sent a payment via Zelle for the second ticket. The EG woman drove to Gillette Stadium and tried paying the remaining $1,200 but was blocked by Zelle and PayPal. The person selling the tickets sent her the tickets anyway at that point because the concert was half over but staff members at the stadium told the EG woman the tickets were fake. The seller acted “surprised,” according to the EG woman, but then offered her tickets to a Taylor Swift show in New Jersey if she sent more money. The woman sent an additional $700 in three increments but that was the last she heard from the Facebook seller. She then contacted someone listed as the person’s sister on Facebook, trying to get her money back. However, the “sister” told her that her real sister’s account had been hacked a while ago. The EG police filed a report so the victim could file a claim with Venmo, Zelle, Ticketmaster, and SeatGeek to get her money back.

Thursday, May 25

12:16 a.m. – EGPD officers cited a Cranston woman for driving without proof of insurance and car registration after they spotted the car driving on Division Street with no passenger-side rearview mirror. Police did a routine check and then pulled the woman over. The woman said she knew the registration had expired but had been to a mechanic the previous day. She was unable to provide paperwork to prove it, though. In addition to the citations, police had her car towed. 

1:01 a.m. – The driver of a BMW with Connecticut plates took an EGPD officer on a high-speed chase around town, starting at Division Street and Sanctuary Drive, weaving through streets, and ending up on 95 South. At times the BMW was doing over 70 mph on residential streets and got over 90 mph on the highway, according to police. Police stopped their chase when the car got on the highway, referring it to R.I. and Connecticut state police as well as Warwick police..

4:06 p.m. – An EG resident said that a teenager in shorts was walking around the neighborhood going door-to-door, and they were afraid the teen was “casing the neighborhood,” according to police logs. Police found out the teen was soliciting and told him about the town ordinance regarding solicitation. 

5:30 p.m. – EGPD officers got into another high-speed chase, this time with a motorcycle driver doing over 65 mph on Post Road with no license plates. The pursuit began when police saw the motorcycle speed through the light at Main Street and First Avenue. When police tried pulling the driver over, he did not stop. During the chase, the motorcycle rider ran a red light, weaved through traffic, and even doubled back at one point. EGPD suspended the chase when the motorcycle driver took 95 North. They notified state police to look out for the bike.

6:16 p.m. – The McDonald’s on New London Turnpike had so much smoke inside during a possible electrical issue that the place shut temporarily to air out. 

Friday, May 26

2:04 a.m. – A large party in the backyard of a home on Sleepy Hollow Road was so loud the cops had to ask them to quiet down. 

9:47 a.m. – Police cited a Riverside man for driving on Main Street with a suspended registration. When police tried to pull him over, the driver quickly turned down a side street, and police lost sight of him temporarily then took him into custody. The man told police he’d been warned about the violation the week before. The man told police to just “just go away,” and said the whole ordeal was “stupid.” When police told him his car needed to be towed, he got upset and threw “paper around the vehicle,” according to the report. His mother came to speak with officers before the man left the scene in an Uber. Police cited the man for driving with an expired registration and without proof of insurance. They also ticketed him for not using a turn signal when he attempted to evade them. 

10:30 a.m. – An employee of Steve Filippou’s Twisted Pizza on Main Street caught a baby opossum in a bucket in the front foyer of the restaurant. The town’s animal control officer had been tracking two in the area for a couple of weeks. The ACO took the animal from the restaurant and brought it to a wildlife clinic in Saunderstown. 

12:59 p.m. – An EG resident reported that a package was missing or stolen earlier in the month. According to the woman, inside the missing parcel was a pair of sneakers worth $675.33. The delivery company told her to wait a few days. When it never showed up, the woman requested the police file a report so she could document it for the company she purchased the shoes with. 

6:39 p.m. – A caller told police that he found backpacks full of tools next to the ATM door of the Citizens Bank on Main Street. The bank manager told police that a technician had come out to work on the AC. Police took the bags and brought them back to EGPD headquarters. 

9:24 p.m. – A caller told police that two people were walking in the parking lot of a business on South Country Tail and “acting suspiciously,” according to police logs. Police spoke with one person who said they were an employee of the company and walked the lot for exercise. 

Saturday, May 27

12:47 a.m. – Police arrested a Wakefield man, 34, for driving in town with a suspended license due to a guilty disposition on a DUI refusal case. Police noticed the car when the driver made strange maneuvers on Cliff Street, First Avenue, Main Street, and Sixth Avenue. Police charged the man with driving on a suspended license due to certain offenses. They also cited him for driving an unregistered vehicle. 

9:15 a.m. – An EG resident told police he believed someone stole his iPhone from his car while he was getting his haircut or walking with his wife the day before. He told police the passenger door was ajar when he returned to his car in the CVS parking lot on Main Street. He believes he locked it and noted that his wife’s purse was still in the vehicle when they returned. However, he believes his cell phone was in the car and is now missing. 

Sunday, May 28

7:55 a.m. – Police were on the scene when a boat – the Matinicus out of Annapolis, Md. – took on water about 30 yards out behind Finn’s Harborside. With help from the EGFD, police got alongside the sinking vessel and confirmed no one was on board. A member of the EG Yacht Club was on the scene and was able to provide contact info for the boat’s owner so police could tell them that their boat was sinking. 

8:37 a.m. – A Tillinghast Road resident told police that her neighbors have outdoor speakers and play music all night. When police checked it out, there was no music or noise.

7:59 p.m. – Another motorcycle driver took an EGPD officer on a high-speed chase through town. This time the pursuit started on First Avenue and Main Street when the motorcycle driver sped out of the Shell gas station following filling up. Police estimate the vehicle was driving 50 mph on residential streets. The chase waved through Kenyon Avenue and Division Street, eventually heading to Love Lane in Warwick. EGPD officers notified Warwick police and continued the pursuit to West Warwick, where local law enforcement called them off the chase. EGPD officers then went to the Shell gas station, where it all began to get more information on the driver, but it had closed.

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3 Comments
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Dan
Dan
June 5, 2023 9:23 am

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Craig
Craig
June 5, 2023 6:12 pm
Reply to  Dan

Fool me thrice…. that’s not nice

Joyce Lafortune
June 5, 2023 6:44 pm

You can’t fix stupid

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