Newport Police Log: Man Arrested After Smoking Joint with Nephew

The following reports detail the arrests made by the Newport Police Department from Thursday, August 12, through the early morning hours of Friday, August 13. Descriptions of all events are based solely on police officer reports provided to Patch.

Man Arrested After Smoking Joint with Nephew

Donald B. Perry, 49, of 4 Farewell Street 302 in Newport, was arrested around 3:55 p.m. Thursday on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Officers were dispatched to the scene around 3:34 p.m. for a report that two juveniles—a 14-year-old and 15-year-old teen— were in the building and in possession of marijuana. En route, officers received a call from COP Jimmy Winters who informed them the teens were there with Perry.

According to the report, officers approached Perry's room and could smell the odor of burning marijuana coming from inside. A short time later, the two teenagers walked out of the room and police detained them. Officers spoke to Perry, who invited them inside and consented to a search. Upon entering, officers say they observed a crack pipe on the dresser, rolling papers and empty small plastics commonly used to pack narcotics in the living room. Perry told police that he met his nephew, one of the teens, in front of the police station and the teen asked him if they could hang out in his room. Perry admitted to smoking marijuana with his nephew, but claimed he didn't know where it came from.

Police interviewed both teens separately. One told them that Perry had left the room for approximately five minutes and returned with a joint. Perry's nephew said he'd been coming to the room a lot lately to smoke marijuana and that he was concerned he had an issue with the drug. Police called the teen's mother to inform her of the problem.

After speaking to all parties, police determined they had probable cause to arrest Perry with the charge.

Woman Cited After Dog Bites Teen

Margaret McMonagle, 50, of 21 Bowery Street in Newport, was cited around 7:45 p.m. Thursday for failure to restrain her 5-year-old mutt named Clyde.

Officers responded to the residence around 7:24 p.m., following a report of a dog bite. Upon arrival, they met with the 15-year-old victim, who said he was skateboarding in Aquidneck Park on the Golden Hill Street side when an unleashed dog ran up and bit him on the leg. The teen said the owner, McMonagle, apologized and informed him of where she lives.

Officers advised the teen to have the bite examined at the ER, then went to speak with McMonagle, who told them her dog was off the leash, but was not aggressive and had been chasing after the skateboard. She assured police that Clyde has a current rabies vaccine. Police issued McMonagle a municipal court summons for not leashing the dog.

Men Cited for Drinking at Broadway Bus Stop

Police cited four men with drinking in public Thursday morning after they were observed passing a bottle amongst one another at the RIPTA bus stop at Broadway and Friendship Street.

Joseph M. Coite, 52, Joseph R. Cote, 38, Timothy M. McKinney, 54, and John J. Coriander, 60, all reportedly of 15 Meeting Street, were cited. Coriander was also charged with disorderly conduct.

An officer patrolling the area said he saw five men sitting on the bench who were known for being disorderly in the area. That prompted him to pull his cruiser down Pleasant Street, exit and hide behind a hedge to observe them. According to the report, the officer saw Coriander remove a brown paper bag from his backpack and pass it around. The officer said it was clear the bag was concealing a bottle.

The officer approached the men and asked Coriander to hand over the bag, but Coriander removed the 1.5 liter bottle of Caldwells Vodka and put it in his backpack, handing the officer just the paper bag.

The officer asked Coriander to hand over the vodka, but says Coriander claimed he didn't have any alcohol and began to raise his voice and yell that all he had on him was his medicine. According to the report, Coriander continued to act belligerent, despite his friends telling him to hand over the bottle. At one point, the officer says Coriander stared at him and said that he used to be in the army and could get a 9 millimeter gun and knew how to use it. When the officer asked if that was a threat, Coriander reportedly replied yes.  Other officers arrived on the scene and arrested Coriander, who they say continued to act disorderly.

Police detained the vodka bottle, which they say was 1/4 full, and emptied it. Cote, Coite and McKinney were all issued citations. The fifth man, who was not observed drinking, was sent on his way.

Noise Citation

Erika A. Betts, 18, of 17 Vernon Avenue 3 in Newport, was cited around 12:55 a.m. Friday for a noise disturbance.

Officers were dispatched to the residence around 12:45 a.m., where the city's zoning officer informed them that the noise reading of 62.7 decibels was in violation of the city's ordinance.

According to the report, officers could hear people talking loudly and music coming from the third floor rear deck of the residence. While approaching, they also heard a window shatter in the front. Officers spoke to the tenant, Betts, who said her friend accidentally broke the window and that she wasn't interested in pressing charges. Officers issued Betts a municipal court summons for the noise.

Drinking Citation

Kenneth F. Camadeco, 56, of 10 Bellevue Avenue 138, was cited around 12:33 a.m. Friday for drinking in public.

An officer reported that he was doing a routine check of Kings Park when he heard two people talking loudly from the west side of the park. The officer says he observed two people sitting on a stone wall, one of whom was Camadeco. The officer reported seeing Camadeco drink from a long neck bottle of Lunazul tequila. According to the report, sitting between the two individuals was a can of ice tea, an open 12 ounce can of Bud Light and the tequila. Camadeco told the officer that he was unaware the beach was closed. He was issued a municipal court citation.