Police Log: Rabid Racoons, Cat Kills Bat, 2 DUIs

PHONE SCAM
On June 2, a Jodie Beth Drive resident told police that someone called the house claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service and demanded a $1,400 payment and said a warrant was issued in the case.

Police said the resident hung up because the caller had a Middle Eastern accent.

Police documented the incident.

RABID RACCOONS
An East Greenwich police officer put down a raccoon that appeared to be rabid on June 2 after the animal was reported to be seen behind Evolve Hair Salon on Main Street.

A pair of officers flushed the animal out from the rear of a shed and one of the officers discharged two shots from a shotgun, according to a police report.

The raccoon was struck and fell off a 12 to 15 foot wall into a heavily wooded area.

Officers tried to find the raccoon's remains in the woods but were unsuccessful.

On June 5, another raccoon was reported, this time in the RE/MAX parking lot on Main Street.

Police said they were dispatched to the area around 4:52 p.m. and the raccoon was reportedly walking sideways in an open area and showed no fear of people.

An officer euthanized the animal with a shotgun.

An ACO disposed of the remains.

LETTERS DISAPPEARING
A Lenihan Lane resident told police on June 8 that letters on a sign at the front of the neighborhood have been disappearing.

The resident told police that the letters have randomly been removed over a period of several months.

The matter was documented.

DUIs
Police charged Kyah Lynn Cartrette, 22, of 120 Pierce St., East Greenwich, with driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test June 3 at 12:15 a.m. after she nearly drove straight into a police cruiser heading in the opposite direction on Main Street.

Police said Cartrette was seen by the officer heading south on Main Street when she began driving directly at his cruiser and the car in front of him before quickly veering back into her lane.

The officer turned on his lights and started to follow her along Main Street as she reportedly swerved back and forth over the double yellow line. He followed her for a while, eventually stopping her after she turned onto Dedford Street, drove onto the sidewalk and continued on until she eventually came to an abrupt stop in the middle of two parking spaces in the Swift Gym parking lot on Pierce Street.

According to a police report, Carette told police that she didn’t see the cruiser behind her said she had three margaritas at McKinley’s after work.

Police said she was unsteady on her feet, failing a field sobriety test, and was taken into custody without incident.

On June 5, police charged Tyler J. LaPoche, 23, of 162 Weaver Hill Road, West Greenwich, with driving under the influence at around 2:19 a.m.

Police said an officer on patrol watched LaPoche drive in the wrong lane through an area under construction on Divison Road near New England Tech.

Once stopped, police said LaRoche showed signs of being drunk and later failed a field sobriety test.

He later registered blood alcohol readings of .277 and .270 in two preliminary breath tests at police headquarters.

Along with the DUI charge, police issued a summons for leaving the lane of travel.

He is due to appear in Third Division District Court on June 13 to answer to the DUI charges.

CREDIT FRAUD
A Glen Drive resident told police on June 5 that she lost her Visa Debit card at the New London Turnpike McDonalds a few days earlier and then saw a slew of transactions totaling $462.84 and a funds transfer of $1,756.16 were initated on her account soon after.

The transactions occurred between June 2 and June 4, police said, and ranged from purchases at Veteran’s Market in Coventry; area Stop and Shops and Walmarts, pharmacies, an auto parts store, gas stations and more.

Police are investigating.

MATTRESS FIRE
A smoldering mattress that was dragged outside by a South County Trail man who fell asleep with a cigarette eventually rekindled and caught fire, prompting a response by East Greenwich police and firefighters on June 3.

Police said they were dispatched to 3200 South County Trail at about 8:30 a.m. for a report of a house fire.

Upon arrival, responders saw that the fire was actually contained to a mattress outside the house and all the occupants were outside and safe.

A resident, identified by police as Donald Maloof, said he fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand and woke up to a smoldering mattress.

He took the mattress outside and assumed the fire was out, police said, so he went back inside and fell asleep.

About an hour later, Maloof’s daughter woke him up, yelling that the mattress had gone up in flames.

Meanwhile, two dogs ran out of the house.

Members of the Fire Department extinguished the fire and police later located the dogs after a High Hawk Road resident told police that two dogs were roaming around his yard.

That resident contained the area and called police.

Maloof was notified of his dogs’ whereabouts and he arranged to pick them up.

CAT HANDED OVER
An East Greenwich animal control officer was approached by a homeless 26-year-old man carrying a white cat who said he couldn’t take care of the cat anymore on June 3.

The officer, according to a police report, took the cat to North Kingstown Animal Hospital where it would be examined and put up for adoption.

The man initially asked for a ride to the East Greenwich Animal Protection League over the town line, but the ACO said she couldn’t leave her post.

The man was visibly upset at the choice he had to make, police said, and the ACO tried to reassure him that the cat would be well cared for.

ANOTHER PAINT INCIDENT FROM CRASH
Another person who drove through paint spilled onto the roadway after a crash on Post Road May 30 reported damage to his vehicle.

Police said a 62-year-old West Warwick man came to police headquarters on June 3 and said he drove throught he paint and there was no way to avoid it.

The paint caused damage to his passenger side tires, wheels and the lower half of the car’s body panels. 

SICK DOG AFTER RACCOON FIGHT
A local dog that got into a fight with a raccoon and became sick has been put in a six month quarantine, police said.

Police said they transported the dog to North Kingstown Animal Hospital on June 5 to start the quarantine after a Church Street resident reported to the state Department of Environmental Management two days earlier that his dog, C-Jay, a male pit bull, was in a fight two weeks ago and had been sick for about a week.

The dog reportedly was not up to date with its rabies vaccine and had been sick, vomiting and had diarrhea.

The state health department was notified of the incident.

CAT KILLS BAT
An East Greenwich animal control officer on June 4 met with the owner of a cat who killed a bat the night before.

According to a police report, the officer responded to a Moosehorn Road residence where the pet owner said she couldn’t find the bat right away because her cat had hidden it.

The ACO said the bat was put in a closed Tupperware container. The resident was able to produce a rabies certificate for a dog, but she had none for both of her two cats.

The resident said she would have her vet fax over papers for the cats.

The bat was transported to the health department for testing.

The ACO said the pets needed booster shots and quarantine.

DOMESTIC
East Greenwich police charged Barry S. Pearce, 50, of 5 Church St., East Greenwich, with domestic simple assault, third offense — a felony; domestic disorderly conduct and a warrant June 7 after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat, pushed her against a wall and punched her three times in the face.