Rep. Watson Arrested In So. Kingstown For Pot Possession

He was stopped by police just before midnight Saturday.

State representative Bob Watson, R-30, of East Greenwich, was arrested Saturday night for possession of marijuana in South Kingstown after police got a tip about an erratic driver. Watson, who was arrested last April in Connecticut for driving while intoxicated and marijuana possession, has said that he smoked marijuana for pain relief. He does not have a medical marijuana card, which would allow him to possess and use small amounts of the drug. According to Lt. William Buckley of South Kingstown Police, a plow operator clearing the parking lot of the Washington County Veterinary Hospital on Tower Hill Road notified them that a car with a flat tire almost struck him. When police arrived, they found a white Volvo with the license plate RW …

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Bob Watson Gets A Shout Out, And A DD Downer

What to love and hate about living in East Greenwich this week.

RAVE: When I moved to Rhode Island in 2000, the casino question was a big issue here in East Greenwich. Now the (un)lucky neighborhood is North Kingstown. Do I want a casino in Rhode Island? Not particularly. I do not want it in my town, I do not want it in the next town down. I do not like gambling per se, I do not believe they raise revenues in any way. Okay, enough channeling Dr Seuss. Sure, I can see how a casino might add to the local and state coffers at first blush, but I believe that in the long run, there are added stresses to the town’s and county’s services. Studies show that in addition to the street traffic that comes to town on the heels of a casino, there are other kinds of traffic — such as crime, drugs, and prostitution. …

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EG Lurker

11:54 am on Saturday, January 7, 2012

Lisa, travel west of New Jersey and you'll see far fewer DDs. My hunch is that expansion is elsewhere in the country...California alone is completely undeserved by DD...there's room for 5k in that state alone!   more ›

Rants and Raves

Twelve Hopes And Dreams For East Greenwich In 2012

What to love and hate about living in East Greenwich for the upcoming year!

To begin at the beginning, it’s a brand new year. To kick it off, a ranting, raving resolution. I hope for a great many things for our town in 2012 – some selfish, some altruistic. My number one hope and dream would be for all the empty stores on Main Street to be occupied - and not by 99 per centers. The pop-ups this holiday season have been a great addition but, as the song goes, what goes up must come down. (I have just completely outted myself as a seventies rocker.) It would be great to get some businesses that have nothing to do with formal events and pasta (however, an early welcome back, Post Office Cafe!). Maybe even - gasp! - a grocery store. My second hope and dream would be for cars to actually stop at the town crosswalks when…

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Rep. Bob Watson Continues To Negotiate On DUI Charges In Conn.

In New Haven courthouse Friday, Watson's lawyer says, "Negotiations have moved in a new direction."

Watson’s Lawyer Unable To Win Plea Deal In Conn. Court Thursday

East Greenwich state Rep. Bob Watson is accused of DUI and drug possession from an incident in East Haven, Conn., April 22

The lawyer for East Greenwich state Rep. Bob Watson, who was arrested in East Haven, Conn., on DUI and drug charges in April, made an unsuccessful attempt in court Thursday to settle the case with a plea bargain. Watson’s lawyer, Jack O’Donnell, met with Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph LaMotta in Superior Court Judge Karen Sequino’s chambers in New Haven Superior Court Thursday, but was not able to get an agreement with the prosecutor. O’Donnell confirmed that he had made a proposal, but he declined to describe it, except that it did not involve accelerated rehabilitation. Accelerated rehabililtation is when a first-time offender pleads guilty and his record is wiped clean a year later if he doesn't get into any other trouble. “…

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Watson Pleads Not Guilty In Conn. To DUI, Drug Charges

The East Greenwich state representative will return to court in New Haven on Aug. 25.

Embattled Rhode Island state Rep. Robert Watson, who was caught in an East Haven police DUI checkpoint in April, pleaded not guilty today in New Haven Superior Court on DUI and drug possession charges. Watson appeared briefly before Superior Court Judge Susan Connor Thursday morning while his lawyer, Jack O’Donnell, entered the not-guilty plea. Judge Connor set his next pretrial appearance for Aug. 25, when Watson might choose to have a jury trial. “I expect to deal with this in a legal manner,” Watson told reporters after leaving court, which was essentially the same thing he said at his first court appearance on June 7. He declined to make any other statements. The meeting with reporters was much less dramatic than on June 7, when …

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Elizabeth McNamara

4:12 pm on Thursday, July 21, 2011

Mutato, you're right. Watson was found to have both marijuana and cocaine in a test on his urine that was returned in early June. We omitted that fact in error.   more ›