Police Log

The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Johnston Police. Chief Richard S. Tamburini or Deputy Chief Daniel Parrillo has reviewed all reports.

TELEVISION GONE

Patrolman Richard Varan reported a housebreak on Victoria Mount Street on June 14. The resident told Varan his family was out of the house between 4:15 and 10:45 p.m. He said he arrived home and found a white man running from underneath the deck of the house. Varan said the man told him he walked upstairs and saw the hinge of the front door was damaged and then ran back downstairs to chase the man but lost sight of him and then called 911. Varan said a 40-inch television worth $150 and a speaker that cost $30 were gone. Varan said it was obvious from the front door that the intruder kicked it in. The resident said he had no idea who would have done it.

In the meantime, Sgt. Michael Babbitt checked in with a man he knew to be living in one of the vehicles of a business next door to the housebreak. He explained that the man was homeless but worked for the company and was allowed to stay there. He said the man was in a deep sleep and when he woke he told Babbitt he didn’t see anything. Then a procedural check on the homeless man came back with five outstanding warrants: two out of Superior Court for failure to appear for sentencing for a probation violation and violating a no contact order; and two out of the Sixth and Third District Courts, for failure to appear for a suspended license payment review and one for failure to show up for a restitution review for obtaining money under false pretenses. Toby Duffany, 27, of 6.5 Victoria Mount St., was taken to headquarters, processed and held for arraignment.

CLAIMS

Patrolwoman Marisa Ciccone reported she went to a home on Harris Avenue around 10 a.m. on June 16 for a report of a housebreak there. The owner told her that he came home around 8:45 a.m. that morning and entered the house through the back door, which was unlocked, and discovered that his house had been entered. She said he claimed he did not notice that the window screen on a back window was off and left on the deck until later, even though he already told Ciccone he came in through the rear door, which he said he locked when he left the house, which was next to the window that he did leave unlocked. Ciccone said his dresser drawers had been rummaged through and he claimed that 50 of his watches were missing. Ciccone said he explained that he had some brand names, like Movado and Invicta, among his watches and that they were worth a total of $25,000. She said he told her he didn’t have receipts or serial numbers for the watches but he would collect it and bring it to headquarters later. He said he did have homeowners insurance.

Ciccone said she then took a look at the rear window, where entry was said to have taken place by the thief or thieves. She said that the dirt on the windowsill was undisturbed and there were no scuffmarks around the window. Ciccone said she also learned that the same man reported another larceny to Johnston Police on June 11, at which time he told police cell phones, cash, debit and credit cards and softball equipment totaling over $25,000 were taken from his vehicle while it was parked at his residence and that he filed an insurance claim for it. Ciccone said BCI Det. Raymond Peters arrived to process the scene. Before she left, Ciccone reported, she asked the man if he rented or owned the home. “He advised that he owns the home but he ‘does not know for how long.’”

TELLTALE TRUCK

Patrolman Adam Parkinson reported that it was an old, tired Toyota SUV that prompted a neighbor to call police about a man entering an abandoned house on Rosemont Avenue on June 14. Parkinson said he and Patrolman Michael Edwards responded to the suspicious vehicle call around 9:15 a.m. He said he ran checks on the 1987 4-Runner and learned the plates were off a 2003 Hummer and the VIN came back as having no active registration. He said a look around the exterior of the house led them to a basement window with its plywood board removed. He said there were also bags of clothing nearby. As they were about to enter, Parkinson said they saw a man wearing a fluorescent vest with a light on his head and black gloves on his hands walking around inside. He said they called out that they were police and ordered him to come out of the house. He said he surrendered without incident and they determined that he was the only person in the house. Parkinson said they found a screwdriver and ratchet tool in his pockets, along with some costume jewelry. Parkinson said the man claimed he was just retrieving some clothing for a friend who used to live there, but Johnston Code Enforcement informed him the house was under the care and control of the town and they would press charges for breaking and entering. Steven S. Sarchione, 27, of 29 Auburn Ave. in Johnston was charged with breaking and entering and possession of burglary tools. He was remanded to the ACI as a probation violator.

Patrolman Edwards spoke with the caller, who said he initially thought that the suspect’s fluorescent vest indicated that the man was there in some official capacity, but when he saw the terrible shape the Toyota was in, he had his wife call the police.