Newport Police Log: Local Man Arrested After Fight with Girlfriend

The following reports detail the arrests made by the Newport Police Department on Thursday, July 29, through the early morning hours of Friday, July 30. Descriptions of all events are based solely on police officer reports provided to Patch.

Newport Man Arrested After Fight with Girlfriend

Steven Wayne Sousa, 20, of 2 Caleb Earl Street in Newport, was arrested around 2 a.m. Friday on charges of domestic assault, vandalism and refusal to relinquish a telephone.

Police were dispatched to the rear of Pop Kitchen + Cocktails on Broadway around midnight for a report of a man and woman arguing. When officers arrived, police spoke to a representative from the restaurant who said he was inside his office when he heard a woman yelling. He went to see what was going on and said he witnessed a man smashing a driver's side window, then take off running.

Police spoke to the victim, a 21-year-old Middletown woman, who said she'd gotten into a fight with Sousa, who is her boyfriend. The woman said Sousa became very angry, grabbed her wrists and threw her on the floor. When she attempted to dial 911, she says Sousa grabbed her cell phone and kicked it across the ground. The woman says she ran to her car and locked the doors, but that Sousa began kicking the door and finally smashed the window. The victim suffered minor scratches, but refused medical attention.

Officers say they contacted Sousa on his cell phone and that he took responsibility for his actions. Upon meeting with them, officers say they noticed Sousa was limping and bleeding from both feet. He said he cut himself after kicking in the car window, which he claims was an accident that resulted from kicking too high. Sousa told police that while he did grab his girlfriend, he never struck her.

Local Woman Charged with Assault, Obstruction, Resisting Arrest

Jeanine M. Porter, 27, of 22 Russell Avenue in Newport, was arrested around 3:55 p.m. Thursday on charges of simple assault, obstruction of an officer and resisting arrest.

Police said they were dispatched to the Paramount Apartment Building, 76 Broadway, after the property manager reported that a man and woman were fighting in the fifth floor hallway and that she wanted the woman out of the building. Officers arrived and spoke to the man involved, who said he and his girlfriend, Porter, had been drinking all afternoon and that he'd suggested she leave. At that point, the man says Porter became upset and started to yell. When officers spoke to her, they say she gave a false name and refused to speak with them, saying that she wanted to leave and wasn't being held against her will. Officers told her that if she continued to lie about her name, she would be arrested for the offense. Porter then gave her real name, but refused to leave the building, according to police. As officers physically escorted her down the hallway to the elevator, they say she swung at one of them, striking him in the chest. Police say she was uncooperative when they tried to handcuff her, prompting them to place her on the floor using an arm bar. Polie say she continued to resist, but was eventually detained.