Police Log

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The Police Log is a digest of reports provided by the Johnston Police Department.

FALSE REPORT

On February 28, Jameson Iannotti, 23, of 50 Glenham Road in Cranston, responded to police headquarters to report that he was struck by a vehicle on February 27 around 3:45 p.m. at the Plainfield Pile Gulf Station.

Iannotti told Patrolman Joseph McGinn that he and a friend were at the gas station, and that he went inside the store while his friend pumped gas. According to the report, when he was finished inside, Iannotti exited the store’s front entrance and a driver pulling into a parking space failed to yield. He said that the woman struck the front of both of his legs with the front bumper of her car.

After the alleged impact, Iannotti first stated that he had “blacked out” and does not remember if he fell to the ground. Following his blackout, he stated he began yelling at the female operator to stop but she refused and fled from the parking lot. Iannotti failed to contact police or seek medical attention after the incident, saying that he wanted to get treatment but does not have medical insurance. He did, however, contact his attorney for guidance.

A statement was completed by Iannotti, and the officer noted that he had a noticeable limp when he walked. Officer McGinn then spoke with Iannotti’s friend, who was present during the incident but did not observe the impact. He stated he did hear Iannotti yelling and arguing with the woman driver, and that she fled the parking lot and failed to stop.

Following the meeting with Iannotti, Officer McGinn made contact with the woman driver, who stated she was at the gas station and was parked near the front exit. She advised the officer that Iannotti came “flying” out of the front door, and she had stopped to allow him to cross the lot. While her car was stopped, Iannotti walked into the passenger’s side front bumper. She then rolled down her widow and told Iannotti “good thing I was stopped” as he continued to walk back towards the car at the pumps.

The woman told the officer she was certain her car was stopped and that at no time did Iannotti accuse her of striking him or ask her to stop. The woman completed a handwritten statement for the report.

On March 1, members of the police department visited the Gulf station and viewed video surveillance of the incident. The footage showed that at approximately 3:50 p.m., Iannotti and his friend pulled up to the gas pump, where he exited the vehicle and entered the store. While he was in the store, the woman driver exited the business and entered her car that was parked right outside the door. She then cautiously began to back out of her parking spot.

Iannotti was then seen walking straight out of the door, and while walking in the lot his head was facing west away from the woman’s vehicle “having total disregard for his own safety or traffic at the business and never looks forward or to his left,” according to the police narrative. At the time, the woman’s car was stopped, and Iannotti made light contact by walking into the front bumper. At no time did Iannotti fall or appear to be injured, and continued to walk forward, stopping briefly to converse with the woman, who then left the lot.

Based on the video, officers determined that Iannotti provided a false representation of the vents, and an arrest warrant was issued. Iannotti responded to the police station on March 1 after 9 p.m. and was taken into custody and charged with false report of a crime and obstructing an officer. He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Thomas O’Brien and released on $1,000 personal recognizance with a March 13 court date.

WARRANT

Sergeant Luca Lancellotti Jr. was on patrol on February 28 around 10 a.m., when he observed a red Toyota Solara with no inspection sticker traveling north on Killingly Street. He proceeded to stop the vehicle in the area of 624 Killingly Street and identified the driver as Charity Thompson, 36, of 76 Walnut Street in East Providence.

Background checks revealed that Thompson had an active Sixth District Court warrant for failure to appear on a shoplifting charge. She was arrested without incident, her vehicle was towed. Thompson was brought to police headquarters, processed and issued a citation for no inspection sticker before being transported to the Sixth District Court.

STOLEN GOODS

While in the area of 20 Hedley Avenue on March 2 around 10:48 a.m., Sergeant Stephen Altomari observed a red Honda traveling south past his position. He ran a check of the license plate and found that the registration belonged to a silver Honda and that the plate had been coded as stolen by the Providence Police Department.

Sergeant Altomari then checked the area for the suspect vehicle, and located it parked at 165 Dyerville Avenue with a white male exiting the car. The sergeant stopped and detained the man, later identified as Steven Sarchione, 61, of 41 Union Avenue Apt. 1 in Johnston. The officer then noticed that the front and rear license plates were mismatched, and the front plate was registered to a Jeep. A VIN check showed that the silver Honda was unregistered.

According to the report, dispatch contacted the Providence Police who confirmed that the plate had been stolen. Sarchione was taken into custody without incident for receiving stolen goods and operating with a suspended license, first offense, and was cited for operating an unregistered vehicle and improper evidence of registration. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed and released with court paperwork.

FRAUD

On February 23 around 1:15 p.m., a woman met with Patrolman Matthew Winsor at police headquarters to report fraudulent charges on her bank debit card. She advised the officer that about three weeks prior, she noticed the card was missing and had assumed it was misplaced.

When she checked her email on February 22, she had received notification that her bank account was overdrawn. She then checked her account and noticed 11 fraudulent charges at various Johnston, Cranston, Providence and Middletown stores totaling $1,987.23. The transactions occurred between February 14 and 21.

After reviewing the charges, Officer Winsor visited Johnston Gas on Hartford Avenue, as there were three transactions conducted at the store, and spoke with the owner who was advised of the fraudulent charges. The owner provided the officer with the transaction receipts, which had the victims name on the bottom with what appeared to be her signature. The owner then advised that on February 14, a customer who he only knew as “Osmond” came to the business and paid a $400 outstanding balance for previous work done on his vehicle. Osmond then asked the owner to repair his car again, and left a $500 deposit using the card.

A repair order listed a Middletown address for Osmond, which turned out to be a steak house. He was described as an Asian male, approximately 5’ tall between the ages of 40 and 50. The report was then forwarded to detectives for review.

On February 28 at 4 p.m., Xiangmin Ou, 33, of 1174 Atwood Avenue, second floor, in Johnston voluntarily responded to Johnston Police Headquarters to be questioned by detectives regarding the case. According to the report, Ou told officers he used the debit card without permission and made numerous purchases with the card.

Ou was placed under arrest and charged with three counts of felony fraudulent use of a credit card and four counts of misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit card. Additional counts of fraud are also pending.

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