UNQUIET TEMPLE

Things were decidedly unquiet at the Buddhist Temple of Rhode Island, located at 2870 Plainfield Pike, the morning of June 2. Officer Daryl Fish responded to the scene and spoke with the president of the temple. He told Fish that a neighbor called him and informed him that a vehicle went off the road and damaged his property around 7 a.m. Fish said the vehicle went into a ditch, then hit an apple tree and traveled about 75 to 100 feet to strike six Buddhist statues before hitting a fence. Fish said the missing vehicle left behind a mirror, a metal toolbox cover, two wheel stops, a lawn mower bag and a commercial vehicle license plate. The temple told Fish the statues cost a $1,000 each. He said the plate came back to an M & S Landscaping truck. Fish said he called the company and spoke with the owner, who told him he was in the process of learning about the accident from the employee who was involved and was attempting to find out exactly where it happened. He told Fish the truck was parked on A Street in Johnston and Fish told him to stay there and he would join him in 30 minutes.

He said he learned from a foreman that two trucks were on their way to the landfill on Plainfield Pike. The foreman said he looked back and noticed that the second truck was not behind him. The foreman said the driver called from his house and the owner of the company told him to go to the hospital. The owner said the driver sounded like he “seemed out of it.” Fish said he told the driver he needed to come into headquarters but the driver said he needed to go to the hospital and his grandmother was taking him. Fish said it was the next day that he got a call from the driver, now identified as Richard Testa, 23, of 15 Marjorie St. in Coventry. Testa said he would come in the following day and he did. He told Fish he was out of it after he hit his head and was very confused. Fish had learned that Testa’s license was suspended and he was charged with driving on a suspended license and later released with a summons.

HELLO, KITTIES

Officer Louis Pezzullo reported he was on patrol on June 2 when he got a call around 11:20 p.m. that someone had left a portable kennel outside the Cranston Animal Shelter that contained three kittens. He said the kittens seemed well cared for and were probably left because the people who owned the cats could no longer care for them for some reason and decided to anonymously leave them at the shelter. Pezzullo said he secured the kennel in the front office and attached a note showing the report number for the incident.

DOG IN THE WATER

Officer Robert Skodras reported a call about a dog loose in the water off the Edgewood Marina in Narragansett Bay. He said he found a German shepherd about 120 yards off shore. No one at the marinas knew to whom the dog belonged, or where it came from. He said the Cranston Fire Department was conducting marine drills at the time and they said they would try to rescue the dog. They got the dog out of the water and found he had a collar on but no tags. Cranston Animal Control was unavailable at the time, so the firefighters called Providence Animal Control and the dog was taken to their shelter on Terminal Road in Providence. The owner was still unknown at that time.

HABITUAL

A West Warwick man was arrested at the Kmart on Garfield Avenue on June 4 after loss prevention at the store told Officer Andrew Leonard they saw the suspect select 10 electrical cords from a display and conceal them in his backpack before walking out of the store without paying for them. They told Leonard they stopped him outside and recovered all 10 cords, which were worth a total of $156.13. He said the suspect, Michael Gary Lunsmann, 35, of 56 Maple St. was charged with felony shoplifting as a habitual offender. He had over 20 prior arrests or convictions. Leonard said he also learned there was an outstanding arrest warrant from the Warwick Police. Lunsmann was transported to the ACI after he could not meet the $20,000 surety bail set to insure he will appear in Superior Court.

TINTED WINDOWS

Officer Randall Babcock reported he stopped a car for having a tinted windshield on Park Avenue around 1:30 p.m. on June 4. He said the woman driving the car had all the proper paperwork for the car, including the letter from the state allowing tinted windows on her car. He said he pointed out to her that the letter said she could not have a tinted windshield below the “AS-1 line” and asked her to read that portion of the letter. He said he went back to his cruiser and wrote up a notice and demand to correct the tint on the windshield. He said the woman told him he was just stopping her because he wanted to give her a ticket. He said he told her it was a “notice and demand” and went back on patrol.

DUI AND REFUSALS

Officer Justin Rutkiewicz reported stopping a car that was operating erratically on Grace Street around 2:15 a.m. on June 7. He said he followed the car and saw it run several stop signs before it pulled over near 196 Clarence St. He said the driver appeared to be intoxicated and smelled strongly of alcohol. He said he asked the driver for the paperwork for the car and noticed a bottle of alcohol inside when the passenger opened the glove compartment. He said the driver failed the field sobriety test and agreed to a portable breath test. He said the driver blew a .159 blood alcohol content on the test. He said the driver refused a breath test at headquarters and was charged with DUI, refusal, running stop signs and presence of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Ronny Benjamin Nova, 27, of 112B Colfax St. in Providence was later released with a summons.

Officer Bretton Robbins reported an accident with injuries near 350 Union Ave. around 12:55 a.m. on June 7. He said he approached the driver of the vehicle as he was pushing the Rescue personnel trying to get him to the hospital. He said the man reeked strongly of alcohol and Robbins said he stuck with him as he was transported to Rhode Island Hospital after being forcefully restrained by Rescue. He said the driver continued to be resistant and uncooperative at the hospital and was again put in restraints. He said the staff had to sedate the driver, identified as James Torres, 34, of 74 Winter St. in Woonsocket, and that Torres immediately went to sleep before he could get any information from him. Torres was charged with driving an unregistered vehicle, no insurance, failure to control his vehicle and driving on a suspended license.