Teen Arrested After Allegedly Shooting BB Gun Toward Construction Workers

The following reports detail the arrests made by the Newport Police Department from Thursday, August 19, through the early morning hours of Friday, August 20. Descriptions of all events are based solely on police officer reports provided to Patch.

Teen Arrested After Allegedly Firing BB Gun toward Construction Workers

A 15-year-old Newport teen was arrested around 11:49 a.m. Thursday on charges of felony assault, vandalism, discharge of weapons, and use of prohibited air guns.

Officers were dispatched to 11 Simmons Street around 10:50 a.m. for a report that someone had been shooting a BB gun toward construction workers.

Upon arrival, officers spoke to two individuals who said they were working to trim a large tree on the west side of the property when one heard the sound of an air gun being shot, then heard the projectile ricochet off the east wall of 13 Simmons Street. Two minutes later, a second shot was heard, and the projectile struck a vehicle directly behind the man, causing a large indention in the driver's side door. The man estimated that the BB missed his chest by approximately 6 inches.

Police checked the area, but were unable to locate any BBs. Officers responded to 14 Grafton Street, where the man had reportedly seen a sillouhette of a person with a rifle in the window. There, they encountered one juvenile, who claimed there was no gun and no shooting. Officers convinced him that it'd be better to give up the gun to avoid charges, so the teen escorted them inside and up the stairs. Officers asked if anyone else was in the home, and the teen told them his friend was. Officers checked the adjacent bedroom, but didn't find anyone, then heard noise from the closet and found the teen hiding inside. The gun was located behind a dresser in the hallway.

During the investigation, officers determined which teen had shot the gun. He was taken to the police station for booking, then transported later that evening to the Rhode Island Training School, awaiting arraignment.

Providence Man Arrested After Giving Fake Names to Police

Wesley S. Brown, 34, of 415 Friendship Street in Providence, was arrested around 9:25 a.m. Thursday on charges of obstruction of an officer, drinking in public, simple assault, and two failure to appear warrants.

Officers were dispatched to Bayside Village Apartments on Third Street around 8:40 a.m. for a report that a man was passed out on the steps of one of the buildings. Officers woke the man, who first identified himself as Freddy Blackskin, but then later changed that to Frederick Wilkins. Officers noted the smell of alcohol on his mouth, but sent him on his way.

Officers did checks and discovered that the man had a warrant, but upon trying to locate him, he had disappeared, which they found suspicious.

Other officers later located him walking out of Bridge Liquors, where the man identified himself at Tyrone Wilcox from California and said he'd been arrested several times before when he was younger. Later in the conversation he stated he'd only been arrested once. When officers asked him why he gave the name Freddy earlier, he said he'd just woken up and was thinking of Freddy Blackskin, a musician. When they asked again why he would give three different names in such a short period of time, he failed to give a reasonable explanation. He then told officers that his home in Providence was at an alcohol rehabilitation facility, despite earlier telling them he was at his mother's house. Given all the inconsistencies in his story, officers decided to arrest him for obstruction of officers.

The man was transported to the police station for booking, but according to the report, he was uncooperative and tried to delay the process. While writing the report, an officer determined that his real name was Wesley Brown.

When an officer went down to write Brown a municipal summons, he was again confrontational with booking and would not stand still, becoming agitated, verbally confrontational and trying to bait officers into a fight. He reportedly asked officers several times whether they were married or had children, which they found threatening. An officer who'd turned away says he then heard commotion to his side, turning to see officers trying to gain control of Brown as he clenched his hands beneath his body. Officers eventually got his hands from under him and handcuffed Brown, but while being taken to the ground he suffered a small laceration to the right eye. Newport Fire Department arrived to patch up the cut, and Brown was then transported to Newport Hospital for stitches.

He was then brought back to the police station, where he was finally fingerprinted and placed in a cell.

Motor Vehicle Noise Violation

Jonathan J. Morales, 19, of 56 E. Main Road in Middletown, was cited around 12:30 a.m. Friday for a motor vehicle noise violation near the intersection of Kay Street and Rhode Island Avenue.

An officer patrolling the area said he heard a vehicle approaching that was playing very loud music. The vehicle rolled through the stop sign at Kay Street and Rhode Island Avenue, then continued east on Kay Street. Given that the officer still heard the music as it approached Kay Street and Prairie Avenue, he activated his emergency lights and stopped the vehicle.

Morales handed the officer an active registration and insurance card, but said he lost his license and was in the process of getting a new one. The officer advised him that he'd been stopped for failing to obey a stop sign and for the noise, also noting that he'd stopped him before for noise violations on Aug. 13 and Aug. 19, issuing warnings both times. The officer advised Morales that he was in violation of the city's noise ordinance if the music of his vehicle could be heard from a distance of 25 feet or more between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Morales was issued a municipal court summons, with a court date of Sept. 13.