Police Log

Firefighter charged with DUI

A full-time town firefighter has been charged with driving under the influence following a weekend crash in Glocester.

Michael Calise, 46, of Glocester, has entered a plea of not guilty and been released on personal recognizance. Johnston fire officials have indicated he remains on the job as the judicial process plays out.

According to reports, Calise was off-duty and driving west before midnight on Saturday when his vehicle crossed the centerline and struck another vehicle head-on. The three occupants of the other vehicle are said to have been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, while Calise was reportedly uninjured.

Police reportedly found a number of unopened beer cans while searching Calise’s vehicle. He is said to have displayed signs of intoxication at the scene, and refused to take a chemical test.

Calise is charged with driving under the influence (first offense) and refusal to submit to a chemical test.

Pawtucket man arrested on drug charges

Patrolman David Galligan reports being on patrol after 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 when he observed a vehicle with Massachusetts plates turn left from Killingly Street onto Borden Avenue without using a turn signal. The vehicle then turned into the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot and proceeded through the drive-thru before exiting south onto Killingly Street.

Galligan reports he stopped the vehicle and asked for the male operator’s name and driver’s license. The picture on the identification did not match the operator, the patrolman reports. There were also two passengers in the vehicle.

Other Johnston personnel and a Rhode Island State Police K-9 unit responded to the scene, Galligan reports. Subsequent cross-agency checks also confirmed the operator had lied about his identity, and his correct name was determined. The operator was then placed under arrest.

A check of the vehicle came up negative for narcotics, Galligan reports, but a strip search was conducted at police headquarters “due to [the operator] having multiple previous narcotics arrests” and based on information from the Pawtucket Police Department.

Galligan reports the search uncovered a bag containing a leafy brown-green substance consistent with marijuana, as well a bag containing a white substance consistent with crack cocaine. The two were later confirmed to be the drugs, in amounts totaling four grams and five grams, respectively.

Paul Lopes, 26, of 21 Appleton Ave., Apt. 2, in Pawtucket, is charged with possession of a Schedule II substance (subsequent offense), driving after denial, suspension, or revocation of a license, driving in possession of a controlled substance, and obstructing an officer in the line of duty. He was also issued a violation for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, and cited for failure to use a turn signal.

Hit-and-run suspect charged

Patrolman Derrick Palazzo reports responding to an Enfield Street residence at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 in an attempt to locate a suspect in a hit-and-run accident that had just occurred. The other vehicle had been attended at the time, but no injuries were reported.

Palazzo reports the suspect’s son allowed him to enter the home, and he located the suspect in a bedroom. The man initially denied he had been involved in an accident, at which point the patrolman states he noted the man’s vehicle was parked in his driveway with a warm engine and “heavy from end damage.” The patrolman also states that at the scene of the accident, he had “recovered a large portion of a black front bumper matching the front end damage” to the suspect’s vehicle.

The suspect then reportedly acknowledged having been involved in an accident, but said he had spoken with the other party involved before leaving the scene.

Gregory D. Habernek, 56, of 103 Enfield St., Apt. 2nd floor, in Johnston, is charged with duty to stop for an accident resulting in damage to an attended vehicle. He was processed at Johnston police headquarters and released with a Third District Court summons.