Teen arrested after

SUV chase, crash

A 13-year-old stole an SUV in Coventry and led police on a chase that ended with a crash in Cranston on Sunday night, according to police.

Coventry police initially responded to reports of the stolen vehicle, which was reportedly seen heading east toward West Warwick. The vehicle was located and attempts to stop it were unsuccessful, and a pursuit continued into Cranston before it was called off.

Police subsequently found the vehicle flipped on its side near St. Anne’s Cemetery on Cranston Street. The teenager was the sole occupant, and was taken into custody. It was unclear whether he was injured.

Pedestrian struck

by vehicle

A 35-year-old male was hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle on the evening of March 26, according to police.

Chief of Police Michael Winquist said the man was crossing west to east across Warwick Avenue at Dartmoor Avenue at approximately 7:53 p.m. when a northbound 2006 Chevy Malibu driven by a 68-year-old male hit him. The driver remained at the scene.

The pedestrian was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the chief said.

A witness at the scene indicated a second vehicle – described only as a pickup truck – may have also hit the pedestrian after the initial collision and left the scene, although the chief said that had not been confirmed.

Winquist said the area in question is “very poorly lit,” and neither alcohol nor speed appeared to be factors based on the initial investigation. The pedestrian was also not in a crosswalk, he said. No charges were expected.

Local men charged as part of BHO lab crackdown

Two local men have been charged in connection with an illegal drug manufacturing operation that led to a massive blaze at a Providence warehouse last year.

Christopher White, 50, of Warwick, and Graeme Marchall, 50, of Cranston, have each been federally indicted on nine counts of endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance, one count of conspiracy, seven counts of distribution of a controlled substance, and five counts of money laundering. Each pleaded not guilty and was released on unsecured bond following their arraignment in U.S. District Court last week.

The charges stem from a March 9, 2015, blaze at an 85,900-square-foot warehouse space at 498 Kinsley Ave. in Providence. According to the office of U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha, White and Marshall leased the warehouse space and used it to operate a business selling supplies and equipment for the cultivation of marijuana.

They also allegedly used a portion of the space to operate a butane hash oil (BHO) manufacturing laboratory, and produced more than 1,000 grams of the substance – sold for between $15 and $30 a gram – over a two-year period. The fire that destroyed the warehouse is alleged to have started in the BHO laboratory.

The charges against White and Marshall were announced as part of a wider action against five individuals statewide in connection with four unrelated BHO labs. Neronha and other federal, state, and local law enforcement officials made the announcement, and according to a news release sought to “emphasize the public safety threat and potential for catastrophic results due to the emerging presence of illicit BHO labs.”

“BHO labs are highly dangerous facilities used to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a Schedule I controlled substance found in marijuana plants, through the use of butane,” the release reads. “In the past year, illicit BHO labs were discovered by law enforcement in South Kingstown, Westerly, Providence, and West Warwick.”

“This activity poses an enormous threat to human life. Where BHO manufacturing is going on, no one is safe: not those involved in the illegal operation themselves; not those who happen to be living or visiting nearby; not first responders,” Neronha said through the release. “The demand for BHO, whether for purported medical purposes or otherwise, cannot justify its production, given the magnitude of risk. Second, those who continue to engage in the production of BHO, notwithstanding what ought to be abundantly clear by now, will be the strong focus of our collective law enforcement efforts.”

The release also notes that Attorney General Peter Kilmartin who introduced legislation that seeks to prohibit medical marijuana patients and caregivers from extracting THC from marijuana using a flammable liquid such as butane. Compassion centers would be allowed to utilize the practice in accordance with the regulations of the state Department of Health.