Police: Cranston Drug Dealer who Drove BMW, Wore Rolex Now at Home Wearing GPS Bracelet

Up until last week, Dennis Bernard of Cranston has been driving in and around the city in a BMW while flashing a Rolex watch, selling crack and heroin.

Today, he’s at home with a GPS monitoring device strapped to his leg after his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence on Thursday following a month-long investigation into his alleged drug dealing by Cranston and Warwick police.

The investigation was led by members of the Cranston Police Special Investigations Unit and the Warwick Police Special Operations Group who worked together through June. Bernard, 29, sold crack to an undercover Warwick detective four times as detectives closed in on him, according to a criminal complaint filed by the office of U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

Police also seized 45 grams of crack and 21 grams of heroin stashed in a backpack found hidden in a bedroom closet at a raid at his Cranston residence on Thursday. They also found $5,000 cash in a bathroom panel, $1,251 cash elsewhere in the house and “various items used in the packaging and distribution of drugs.”

With the money Bernard had earned selling drugs, he bought himself the BMW, the Rolex and other jewelry that detectives believe were bought with proceeds.

All told, Bernard is charged with one count each of possession with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, and distribution of crack cocaine.

The arrest is part of an ongoing effort by local police to make heroin and other drugs harder to get.

“Targeting those who distribute heroin and other illicit drugs in our neighborhoods will continue to be of the highest priority of the Cranston Police Department, especially in light of the continuing epidemic of opioid overdoses here in Rhode Island,” said Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist.