Police Log

DISORDERLY,

ASSAULT CHARGES

Patrolman Michael A. Martufi Jr. reports responding to Fire House Hot Dogs at 39 Putnam Ave. at approximately 1:16 a.m. on Sept. 27 alongside other officers for a report of a disturbance.

While en route to the scene, Martufi reports another officer advised by radio that the suspects involved had fled the scene in a silver Honda, heading toward North Providence. The patrolman began checking the area and coordinated with North Providence officers, and information regarding the vehicle’s registration led police to respond to a North Providence address.

Martufi continued to the Putnam Avenue location and met with the victim, whose face he reports was covered in blood.

“His eyes, cheeks, and forehead were already beginning to swell heavily, and he had a large cut underneath his right eye that required medical attention,” Martufi writes in his narrative report.

According to statements received from the victim, his wife, and two friends, the victim was standing in line waiting for an order. As he walked to the window after his number was called, a woman is said to have starting yelling at him, and then to have punched him. She was then joined by two men and another woman, and one of the men is said to have punched the victim, knocking him to the ground.

“[The victim] said he couldn’t recall exactly what happened after he went to the ground, but stated that he was struck several more times,” Martufi writes.

Martufi reports he then canvassed the parking lot to speak with independent witnesses. One, an off-duty North Providence fireman, told the patrolman he did not witness the events leading up to the incident, but did witness a man punching and stomping on the victim as he entered the parking lot.

Martufi then reports being told via radio that the suspect vehicle had been located in North Providence. He responded to that location, where a woman who answered the door directed police to the vehicle’s owner and a man she was with in another room. That man and woman matched the description of the suspects, according to Martufi, and the man was reportedly “laying face down on the bed, with a bag of ice over his left knuckles.” The man also reportedly “had marks on his knuckles, along with dried blood that was so substantial, it was visible from across the room.” Both the man and woman were then placed under arrest without further incident.

John F. Manfredi, 36, of 16 Packard Ave. in North Providence, was charged with simple assault or battery and disorderly conduct. At his arraignment before a justice of the peace, his bail on the Johnston charges was set at $5,000 surety. He was also transported to the ACI to be held as a bail violator.

Molly M. Meschino, 25, of 11 Greenville Ave., Apt. 2 in North Providence, was charged with simple assault or battery and disorderly conduct. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance bail pending a district court date.

VEHICLE

VANDALISM

Patrolman Michael G. Edwards reports responding to a report of a motor vehicle vandalism at approximately 6 p.m. on Sept. 12.

The reporting party told Edwards he had just purchased a black 1998 Mercedes Benz, and had taken it to a location to be worked on the previous evening. On the morning of Sept. 12, the party said he received a call notifying him the vehicle had been vandalized. The party indicated he had been working that day, and as a result and did not see the damage and contact police until the evening of Sept. 12.

The reporting party also gave Edwards the name of the person he believed to be responsible for the vandalism, and indicated he wished to file a complaint. According to Edwards’ report, a female party at the location where the reporting party left the vehicle told the reporting party that the person responsible had mistakenly vandalized the vehicle as the result of a romantic misunderstanding.

Edwards’ narrative indicates he observed significant damage to the reporting party’s vehicle, including a shattered windshield, dents on the roof and hood, and a rock on the floor of the rear passenger compartment. A check of the area and a previous address of the suspect yielded no results, the patrolman reports, while a records check found 15 prior charges against him and an active Superior Court bench warrant.

Edwards reports that on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15, he had additional conversations with the reporting party in which the man showed him a Facebook conversation with the suspect. In those exchanges, the suspect reportedly acknowledged causing the damage and offered to pay restitution. The reporting party indicated, however, that the suspect then stopped making contact.

Edwards reports responding to a Putnam Avenue address at 11:41 p.m. on Oct. 6 to assist with the transportation of an intoxicated male, who was then identified as the vandalism suspect.

Nizar G. Rassas, 26, of 203 Greenville Ave. in Johnston, was arrested on a charge of vandalism/malicious injury to property, as well as the bench warrant. He was transported to Johnston police headquarters for processing.