Four DUI Arrests Last Week in North Kingstown

DUI
Matthew C. Gray, 65, of Lamb Road, Warwick, was charged with driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test Feb. 19 at 8:46 p.m.

Police said Gray was stopped on Tower Hill Road after an officer on patrol saw him driving erratically in his GMC Terrain.

Police said Gray failed a field sobriety test at the scene and later refused a chemical test.

He was later released and is due to appear in court on March 3 for arraignment.

On Feb. 19, police charged Christian Alexander Ellerbe, 21, of 136 Lafayette Road, North Kingstown, with driving under the influence after he allegedly got his Jeep Cherokee stuck in a snowbank on Oak Hill Road shortly before midnight.

Police said they first got a call from the Oak Hill Tavern reporting a customer who had become unruly and left the bar on foot. Employees were concerned because they believed he was too drunk to drive.

A few moments later, police got a call from an Oak Hill Road resident reporting a Jeep Cherokee was stuck in a snowbank on the street and the driver kept getting in and out in an effort to get the Jeep out. A mailbox had been damaged in the process.

Police arrived and found Ellerbe at the scene. He smelled like alcohol, police said, and claimed to have drunk one beer and was heading home.

Ellerbe said that he swerved to avoid another vehicle and lost control, causing him to end up off the roadway and hit a mailbox.

Police said Ellerbe failed a field sobriety test at the scene and registered a blood alcohol reading of .225, .204 and .239 in three preliminary breath tests at police headquarters.

He was later released with a March 3 District Court summons.

On Feb. 15, police charged Robert Anthony Abbruzzese Jr., 39, of 44 N. Olney St., Johnston, with driving under the influence, refusing a chemical test and a warrant after he allegedly crashed his Jeep Wrangler into two traffic signs on Tower Hill Road at around 10:31 p.m.

Police said an officer at a stationary traffic post on Tower Hill Road heard a loud noise that sounded like a crash.

The officer began driving along Tower Hill Road looking for an accident and soon saw two metal traffic signs in a median area had been run over and were in the travel lane of the road.

The officer also saw a Jeep driving in the median and stopped it.

Inside was Abbruzzese, who reportedly was wanted by Johnston police for a domestic violence related charge. Johnston Police had issued an alert to area departments that he was wanted and could be intoxicated.

When asked how much he had been drinking, Abbruzzese said “way too much” and soon failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

Police found a half-empty bottle of Smirnoff vodka in the center console and an empty bottle of Tito’s vodka in the back seat.

He was taken into custody without incident and later released to Johnston Police. He is due to appear in District Court on March 3 to answer to the DUI charges.

On Feb. 14, police charged Agustin Resendiz Hernandez, 60, of 34 New Lexington Road, North Kingstown, with driving under the influence at around 2 a.m.

Police said an officer driving on Post Road saw headlights inside Quidnessett Cemetery and went into the cemetery to investigate.

He soon found Hernandez inside his car that appeared to have gotten into a snow bank.

Hernandez got out of his car and fell down as if unable to keep his balance, according to a police report.

The tires of Hernandez’s car were smoking from ”burning rubber when trying to maneuver the vehicle out of the snow bank,” according to a police report.

Hernandez said he was trying to use the cemetery as a “cut through” to get home before getting stuck.

He failed a field sobriety test at the scene and later registered blood alcohol readings of .166 and .162 in two preliminary breath tests at police headquarters.

He was later released with a March 3 District Court summons.

DOMESTIC
Police charged Jamie L. Pelley, 32, of 1075 Old Baptist Road, North Kingstown, with domestic disorderly conduct and domestic simple assault, third offense — a felony — Feb. 20 at 3:15 a.m.

Police said they were dispatched to the address after a 911 hangup call and found the place was in disarray.

After an investigation at the scene, Pelley was arrested. She was on probation at the time of her arrest, police said, and she was held overnight until court the following morning.

She was later released on bail and is due to return to Third Division District Court on March 12 for a review hearing.

SNOW DAMAGE
The glass front door to the office building at 6172 Post Road was damaged, likely from snow being pushed against it by a plow, police said.

An officer on patrol noticed the damage on Feb. 18, according to a police report.

There was a snow pile packed against the front door “consistent with being pushed there by a plow,” a police report stated. “The damage did not appear to be the result of vandalism or a criminal act.”

Police left a message for their point of contact for the building.

SNOW DISPUTE
Police intervened in a snow dispute between two Griffith Road neighbors on Feb. 18.

Police said a resident called police to report his neighbor has been plowing snow from a driveway onto his property.

Though the man said he understands there’s a lot of snow in general, he was worried that when it begins to melt, there could be flooding due to water draining from Boston Neck Road when it rains.

Police spoke with the alleged snow plowing neighbor and he apologized and said he’d try to relocate the snow onto his own property in the future.

DOMESTIC
A North Kingstown woman on Feb. 13 told police that she was assaulted by her boyfriend after she refused to take a nap with him.

Police eventually charged Frederick Stanley Maynard, 44, of 61 Tower Hill Road, North Kingstown, with domestic simple assault, domestic disorderly conduct and a warrant after he turned himself in to police on Feb. 18.

Police said the woman came to police headquarters to report the incident and had visible injuries.

She told police that Maynard grabbed her by the neck, shoved her around the apartment and threw her to the ground. When he finally let go, she left and drove straight to the police station.

Police said the warrant was for failing to appear on an unrelated charge.

ASSAULT, DISORDERLY
North Kingstown police charged Honey H. Savage, 35, of 2214 West Shore Road, Warwick, with simple assault, placing crank or obscene phone calls and disorderly conduct Feb. 19 at 1:26 a.m.

Police said Savage allegedly slapped another woman at Gillian’s Ale House, scratched the woman’s car in the parking lot and placed a threatening phone call after a dispute.

VANDALISM
Police are investigating an alleged vandalism at a State Street apartment after someone spray-painted the word “slut” on a tenant’s back door.

Police said the building manager for the apartment complex reported the vandalism on Feb. 17.

The tenant said she had been out of town for a few days and didn’t know about the vandalism.