Crime & Safety

Police Log: Suspect Bites Officer

The following arrest information was supplied by the Woonsocket Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Drug hiding tricks fail with WPD

Kellen Colbie Melton, 29, of 303 Front St. was arrested on Saturday for possession of narcotics, resisting arrest, assault and possession of marijuana. According to reports, officers on Kendrick Avenue spotted a GMC SUV with heavy tint on the windows and heard the tires screech after the vehicle passed. A cruiser followed as the vehicle, operated by Melton, accelerated, allegedly turning, without stopping at the red light or using a signal, onto Elm Street and then Social Street.

Melton was pulled over and police report smelling a heavy odor of marijuana when he rolled the windows down. The passenger, Albert Martinez, allegedly told officers that he had smoked marijuana two hours earlier. The driver could not produce an insurance card and reports state that his hand was shaking as he gave police paperwork. Martinez, meanwhile, appeared to be fidgeting with something on the floor.

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Melton got out of the vehicle with his cell phone in his hand and when police told him to put his hands on the vehicle, Melton "went for the cell phone to make a call diverting" the officer's attention. With the opposite hand, Off. Joseph Brazil reported, Melton reached inside his jacket and pulled out a glassine bag with smaller bags containing a white substance and put it in his mouth.

Brazil reached into Melton's mouth to grab the substance but the suspect bit down on his index finger. A struggle ensued, in which Melton continued to bite down, while Brazil held on to the substance. With a burst of OC spray, Brazil removed his finger, along with a bag containing 2 grams of cocaine.  In the passenger seat of the car, police found a bag of marijuana ripped open and spread into the floor board. Police recovered 50 grams or roughly $200 of marijuana and Martinez was also arrested for possession.

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Smells like rotten eggs

Timothy Earl Ring, 34, of 47 Paradis Ave. was arrested at home on Saturday after officers responded to a call reporting a gas leak. National Grid told police that during a similar call the previous week, the first floor tenant, whose service had recently been turned off, refused to let an inspector into the apartment. In the basement of the Paradis Avenue building, officers noticed a valve that had been tampered with and a lock removed.

The third floor tenant in the building came down and identified himself as the reporting party, stating that his neighbor had stolen a meter from a abandoned home and that he was worried the tenants would blow up the house. After nearly 20 minutes of knocking, 1st floor resident Trish Dyson answered the door, and officers report instantly noticing a rotten egg smell, normally used by National Grid to identify leaks.

In Ring's bedroom inside the apartment, police found a meter which they traced to 36 Wilson St. Officers and emergency personnel from National Grid were able to gain access to the Wilson Street home through an unlocked window, where they located an area with a missing meter from which gas was also leaking. Ring was arrested for larceny under $500, receiving stolen goods, interference with gas or electric meters, bypassing meters and a warrant.  

Other police activity

Kamnanh Chantharath, 27, of 59 Salisbury St. was arrested at home on Saturday at 10:19 a.m. for a warrant.

Ryan Richard Badeau, 25, of 375 Summer St. was arrested at 35 Carnation St. at 2:26 p.m. on Saturday for violation of a restraining order.

Corey Allen, 26, of 38 Blackstone St. was arrested at 75 Blackstone St. at 1:43 p.m. on Saturday for a warrant.

Luis Sanchez, 19, of 183 Burnside Ave. was arrested at 14 Park Place for obstructing an officer and a warrant.  

See a crime in your neighborhood? Call the Woonsocket Police Department's anonymous tipline at 769-4444.


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