The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Cranston Police and other Law Enforcement agencies

GUILTY PLEA 

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin this week announced that Kenneth Lovett, 31, with a last known address of 112 Eastwood Ave. in Providence, pleaded guilty for his role in three armed robberies.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Lovett was sentenced to 50 years with 24 years to serve for three counts of first-degree robbery, three counts of possession of a firearm while committing a crime of violence, two counts of conspiracy, one count of possessing a firearm without a license and one count of possession of a firearm after being convicted of a crime of violence. 

According to Kilmartin’s office, the state was prepared to prove that in September of 2013, Lovett and co-defendant Joseph Figueroa drove around Providence and Cranston late at night, targeting people for robbery at random. With Figueroa at the wheel, Lovett jumped out of a vehicle wearing a mask and black hooded sweatshirt and robbed a total of three individuals at gunpoint.

Cranston Detective Lee Sohn and Providence Detective Robert Melragno investigated the crimes. Assistant Attorney General Jay Sullivan prosecuted the case.

Figueroa will be sentenced on Jan. 5.

IDENTITY THEFT

Tanika Hawkins, 37, of Port Jervis, N.Y., was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Providence on Dec. 23, charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of wire fraud.

Hawkins was arrested by Cranston police on Aug. 2 after she allegedly used stolen information about a person from Ohio in an effort to secure credit at a Cranston jewelry store and buy a Rolex watch worth around $9,000.

Based on information developed by Cranston police and the U.S. Secret Service, Hawkins also used the same information at a Providence jewelry store to buy a Rolex watch.

The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist and Ted A. Arruda of the U.S. Secret Service.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Hawkins was released following an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in this matter on Aug. 4.

Wire fraud is punishable by penalties up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. Aggravated identity theft is carries a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison, to be served consecutive to all other penalties imposed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah is prosecuting the case.

CRASH & ARREST

On Dec. 21, at approximately 8:34 p.m., members of the Cranston Police Department were dispatched to a report of a motor vehicle accident on Niantic Avenue.

A witness to the accident reportedly told police that a Volkswagen being operated by Parrott was traveling north on Route 10 when it left the roadway, striking a guardrail. The Volkswagen was then said to have veered off of the Niantic Avenue exit and struck a tree in the center of the off ramp before coming to a stop.

According to police, responding officers observed a large amount of new electronic merchandise inside the vehicle, including nine Samsung cellular phones and tablets valued at $4,898.91.

Police said an investigation revealed that these items had been stolen by Phillip H. Parrott, 54, of 143 Central St. in Central Falls, from the AT&T store located at 540 Reservoir Ave. in Cranston just a short time before the accident. Officers responded to the business and observed the front window shattered, alarm sounding and several items missing from a display case.

According to police, officers confirmed through surveillance cameras that Parrott gained entry by throwing a large rock through the front window.

Parrott was arraigned in Third District Court the next day on a charge of breaking and entering a business at night with felonious intent. He will also face a charge of possessing a stolen vehicle and driving without a license.

Police said at the time of Parrott’s arrest, he was serving a six-year suspended sentence for a previous conviction in 2012. He was held without bail at the ACI as a probation violator.