EDITOR'S NOTE: The following police log information has been taken from public record police incident reports provided by the Johnston Police Department.

LARCENY

Johnston police officer investigated a report of larceny at 6:11 a.m. on Oct. 29.

The reporting party told police that when he arrived at work at 4:30 a.m. he noticed a transmission valued at $700 that an employee had left overnight had been stolen at 3:30 a.m.

Surveillance footage showed a blue Honda CRV with no front plate, and the rear drivers side window covered by a trash bag, drive up to the transmission, according to the police incident report.

Two men exited the vehicle, one wearing red shoes, and place the transmission into the trunk of the vehicle, according to police.

The vehicle was then driven out of the lot. Police were unable to get a clear picture of the registration plate, police wrote in the report. The reporting party told police he would like to file a criminal complaint on behalf of the business.

Police spoke with the manager of a local business, who told police they recognized one of the men in the footage, but could not remember his name. The manager asked police to contact him later in the day for the man’s name.

On Nov. 8, police arrested John V. Fargnoli III, of 9 Farwell St., Cranston, according to a police incident report.

Police said Fargnoli was advised of his Constitutional rights and transported to headquarters.

At the Johnston Police Department, Fargnoli was escorted into the Detective division, where he was interviewed. The interview was recorded.

Police said Fargnoli confessed to stealing the transmission and selling it in Providence for $110. Fargnoli now faces misdemeanor charges of Larceny under $1,500 and Conspiracy.

POSSESSION WITH INTENT

At 11:45 a.m., on Nov. 3, Johnston Police officer Michael A. Martufi Jr. was on routine patrol in a cruiser, driving north on Greenville Avenue when he observed a white 2015 Hyundai Sonata with Maine registration plates stopped at the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Cherry Hill Road, according to a police incident report.

Despite the traffic light turning green and no other vehicle in front of it, Martufi wrote, the car did not proceed through the light.

“As I approached, the Hyundai still failed to proceed through the green traffic light, and I observed that the driver was holding his cell phone, noticeably distracted,” Martufi wrote in the police report. “The driver eventually proceeded forward, but at a slow speed. Then, I observed the driver look up at his rearview mirror and become visibly nervous that a police car was behind him, as he made a sudden right turn onto Lafayette Street, which appeared suspicious.”

Since the turn was sudden, the following cruiser was unable to make the right turn immediately, but took the next right onto Sheridan Street.

Martufi ran the registration plate and discovered that it came back “canceled” to a blue Honda, and not a white Hyundai, “which further increased my suspicion and provided probable cause to stop the vehicle,” he wrote in the report.

Within a few seconds of turning onto Lafayette Street, Martufi found the vehicle attempting a three-point-turn in the middle of Delmont Street. He activated his cruiser’s emergency lights and siren and requested backup.

The driver exited the vehicle suddenly, and Martufi gave verbal commands for him to sit back down in the driver’s seat.

At first, police said, the driver claimed to live nearby, but after “several verbal commands” eventually sat back in the car.

Another Johnston Police cruiser arrived on scene.

The driver handed police a Maine ID identifying himself as Montrell T. Marshall. Police asked Marshall if he had a driver’s license, but he replied, “No, not on me, I’m getting it fixed.”

“I later ran a license check of Mr. Marshall and discovered that his Rhode Island driver’s license was suspended,” Martufi wrote in the police incident report. “A check through RI Court Connect revealed that this was his 3rd offense, and thus a misdemeanor charge. I also inquired about the cancelled Maine registration plates, as they did not come back to the white Hyundai, and he stated that he was borrowing them from a friend until he got the car registered.”

Marshall showed police a bill of sale for the Hyundai from June of this year, “well outside the time allotment for registering a purchased vehicle,” according to police.

Martufi checked the vehicle’s VIN and confirmed that it had not been reported stolen.

Police decided to arrest Marshall for driving with a suspended license and tow the vehicle from the scene.

Marshall, of 50 Trask St., Providence, was escorted out of his vehicle and told to stand on the sidewalk. An inventory search was conducted.

“During the inventory search, I located in plain view an open brown Luis Vuitton backpack that contained what appeared from my training and experience to be seven street-packaged plastic bags of marijuana, along with 14 individual bags of marijuana that were in some sort of special color-decal packaging,” Martufi wrote in the police report. “It was evident that the bag collectively weighed more than one ounce, and that they were individually packaged in a way to be illicitly sold and not used personally, and thus Mr. Marshall was placed under arrest for possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.”

Marshall faces the felony charge of Intent to Deliver and a misdemeanor charge of Driving after Denial/Revocation/Suspension (third offense). He was arraigned and released on $2,500 surety with a District Court bail review date to appear on Nov. 8, and a Sixth District Court date of Feb. 3, 2022.

RECEIVING STOLEN GOODS

Around 5 p.m. on Nov. 9, while on a fixed post at 1074 Plainfield St., Johnston Police officer Thomas Santurri observed a silver Honda Ridgeline with a Rhode Island combination plate drive westbound past his location, with no front registration plate.

“This vehicle then overtook another vehicle on the left and crossed the double yellow line while doing so,” Santurri wrote in the police incident report. “I subsequently exited my fixed post and positioned my police cruiser behind the vehicle as it took a quick right hand turn onto Calef Street.”

The driver was identified as Victor Gutierrez, of 57 Laura St., Providence.

NCIC checks revealed that the plate on the Honda should have been attached to a black 2018 GMC Denali, which was reported stolen to the Pawtucket Police Department on Oct. 30, according to police.

The plate was now displayed on the Honda driven by Gutierrez, who was taken into custody without incident. Police said that DMV files revealed the driver also did not possess a valid driver’s license and he was issued a District Court Notice to appear on Nov. 29 for a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license (third offense).

A check of the vehicle’s VIN showed that the vehicle was not actively registered, according to police, and an inventory search discovered another license plate in the back seat of the vehicle. Checks on that plate revealed that it belonged on a 2016 Hyundai.

“Also in the vehicle were several electrical saws and other construction equipment,” Santurri wrote in the report.

Gutierrez was issued a RITT Court Summons for Overtaking on the Left, Operation of Unregistered Vehicle and Improper Use of Evidence of Registration. According to the police report, he also faces misdemeanor charges of Receiving Stolen Goods and an outstanding Bench Warrant issued from Providence Superior Court.

Two passengers in the vehicle were released from the scene. Gutierrez was arrested, processed and held pending arraignment.

SIMPLE ASSAULT

Johnston Police investigated the report of a disturbance at 12:20 a.m. on Nov. 7. After arriving on scene, police spoke to a potential victim who told them she was assaulted by her friend, Sophia Bruno, of 4749 Eddy St., North Attleborough, Massachusetts.

The victim told police that while she was outside, Bruno walked onto their property and began to yell and became combative, and began to drag her by the hair, according to the police incident report. The victim also told police that Bruno started to punch and choke her, but eventually let go and walked away.

Police found Bruno attempting to open the driver side door of her vehicle, according to the police report.

“We then told her to stop and turn around, to which she began to walk in the opposite direction, refusing to listen to commands,” Johnston Police officer Ashley Vanbemmelen wrote in the police report.

One of the officers on the scene attempted to stop Bruno by placing his hand on her right arm, but she allegedly swung her left arm in Vanbemmelen’s direction, according to the police report.

Officers then attempted to put Bruno’s arms behind her back, but “she would not listen to commands, and began to fight and resist our attempt to place her in handcuffs,” according to the report. Bruno was eventually placed in the rear of a cruiser, transported to Johnston Police Headquarters and placed in a cell. Later that morning, around 9:04 a.m., Bruno was released with a Third District Court summons, and faces three misdemeanor charges: Simple Assault or Battery, Disorderly Conduct, and Resisting Legal or Illegal Arrest.

FAILURE TO STOP

On Oct. 4, Warwick Police followed up on a hit-and-run accident that occurred on Sept. 17 in Warwick.

The crash victim told police that a gray 2004 BMW bearing Rhode Island plates struck his vehicle and left the scene without stopping.

The victim said he got a good look at the driver and described him as a white male in his late teens to early 20s, with brown hair in a “bowl” haircut, skinny with an athletic build, according to the police incident report.

The victim told police he would like to press charges and would be able to identify the suspect in a photo lienup.

According to the police report, a cross agency vehicle query yielded an operator that matched the description provided by the victim.

The driver was identified as Devyn Vecchio, 18. According to police incident reports, Vecchio is listed as living at two different addresses: 410 Woonasquatucket Ave., North Providence, and 2 Surrey Drive, Johnston.

“I made multiple attempts to contact the registered owner of the vehicle as well as Vecchio but was hung up on multiple occasions when I stated that I was an Officer of the Warwick Police Department inquiring about the accident,” Warwick Police Officer David L. Boardman wrote in an incident report.

On Oct. 4, the victim came into the Warwick Police Headquarters and was able to positively identify Vecchio as the suspect from the September crash with “99% positivity,” according to the report. Warwick Police said a warrant was issued for Vecchio’s arrest for one count of Failure to Stop for an Accident Resulting in Damage.

At 2:11 a.m. on Nov. 18, two Warwick Police officers were dispatched to North Providence Police Headquarters to pick up Vecchio. He was cuffed and secured in the back of a cruiser, driven to Warwick PD headquarters, and secured in a cell, fingerprinted, photographed and processed, according to police. Vecchio was assigned a Third District Court date on Dec. 7 and released around 5:32 a.m. with a copy of his summons.