OMG PD: Anger in the Courtroom and a New Kind of Carjacking

Anger in the courtroom

A District Court arraignment turned ugly when the former husband of a 38-year-old murder victim lunged at the alleged murderer and had to be restrained. Court officers wrestled the man to the ground and cleared the courtroom while the suspect was led from the court unharmed. See a video of the incident here.

That’s one way to get out of paying

Employees of a Seekonk service station can expect their customer service ratings to fall after a Warren woman stormed out of the station a bit prematurely. After getting a report on her car’s condition, the woman allegedly swore at employees, jumped into her car – which was elevated on a jack – put it in gear, slammed into a mechanic, knocked him down, dragged him across the garage, spun her tires, knocked over a rack of tires, sped out of the parking lot, looped around back into the parking lot, screamed at employees again, and then sped off again. Officers eventually caught up with her and charged her with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, operating recklessly as to endanger, leaving the scene of personal injury and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.

The most dangerous job in Rhode Island?

For as long as we’ve been writing this column, Newport cabbies have been getting beaten up. More evidence came this week, when officers arrested three people for attacking and robbing a pedicab driver in the City by the Sea. They apparently took $500 from the cabbie, but officers reviewed videotapes that caught the robbery in action, and they tracked down the three assailants. They were enjoying their spoils at a nearby 7-Eleven.

Were the clubs really necessary?

A sour relationship, a man’s pursuit of his clothes and a mother’s anger all combined to put one man on the receiving end of a golf club beating. Newport police officers arrested five men after they allegedly attacked another man with golf clubs and a knife. It all started after the victim went to his ex-girlfriend’s house and asked the woman’s mother to get his clothes and leave them outside. The mom called her son, and it appears that’s when he and his friends decided to talk to the victim about the situation – with golf clubs. Three were arrested for felony assault, two for simply assault.

When you gotta go …

A 30-year-old Massachusetts woman was cited for urinating in the bushes near a McDonalds drive-thru in Middletown. The car she was in left McDonalds and continued to Portsmouth before officers tracked it down. When confronted, she admitted to using the bushes rather than the bathroom. She was issued a municipal citation for disorderly conduct-urinating on public property.

Honesty is the best policy

A 22-year-old South Kingstown woman was quick to assist officers after they stopped her on suspicion of drunk driving. She not only agreed to take a field sobriety test – which she allegedly failed three times – she gave an honest assessment of her friend’s condition as well. According to the police report, she said, “I was just giving my friend a ride home because she is way more drunk than I am.”

Take a deep breath

A 41-year-old Exeter woman became so intoxicated with the aroma of spring – and compressed air cans – that she allegedly passed out between two flower stands at the North Kingstown Home Depot. After a store employee woke her up, she allegedly started “huffing” from a can before knocking over plants, stumbling away and leaving the store. When officers caught up to her, she had three cans in her possession.

No hay while the sun shines

An overnight golf cart joy ride took a chunk of change from a Coventry farmer. The farm’s owners found the cart in a field, along with a trail revealing $500 of damage to their hay. Who knew you could inflict $500 of damage to hay?

Sorry, officer, my bad

Near the top of the list of places not to drive drunk would be the local police station. A 21-year-old Cumberland man learned that lesson after he allegedly backed into a detective’s car in the parking lot at the Woonsocket police station. Officers watched as he hit the car and then attempted to leave the parking lot. The officers asked him to stay a while and charged him with driving under the influence.