Newport Police: Portsmouth Man Stole Tools from Tiverton Trailer, Broke into Cars Parked in Middletown; Pawned Stolen Items

NEWPORT, RI—Newport police arrested Andrew W. Awe, 30, of Portsmouth, on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. He is accused of two felony counts of receiving stolen goods worth more than $1,500 and three misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen goods worth under $1,500.

He was also charged with five counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. Specifically, he is accused of stealing power tools and pawning them at a Newport shop.

The charges are based on a complaint reported Nov. 10 at 1:27 p.m.

The trail started in Tiverton, police indicated.

Back in October, Tiverton police Det. Daniel Martin investigated a report about tools stolen from a trailer in Town. He followed the information to a pawn shop in Newport where he learned between Oct. 26 and Oct. 29, Awe had pawned 11 items allegedly stolen from the Tiverton trailer and two items thought to have been taken from vehicles parked at the Home Depot in Middletown.

Several of the items were recovered at the pawn shop, along with paperwork showing Awe pawned them, police allege.

Specifically, on Oct. 16, at Fall River Pawn Brokers in Newport, Awe pawned a $1,500 Hougen Magnetic Drill and a $400 wire feed welder. Then, on Oct. 29, he pawned a $299 Dewalt Band Saw; a $2,000 TIG wire feed welder; and a $1,000 arc welder, police allege.