Man Charged With Trying to Destroy City Menorah While many have focused on the holiday/Christmas tree debacle, one man has not forgotten about the menorah. According to police, a 34-year-old Cranston man (see featured picture) was seen maliciously attacking the city’s menorah one night in an effort to destroy it. (According to police, the menorah was undamaged following the attack.) The religious crusader – a follower of the Zoroastrianism faith, according to his blog – yelled at police and said the city shouldn’t be putting up religious displays, telling them, “This is an infringement of my…

‘Curvy Sweet Dark Chocolate’ Woman Charged With Prostitution A “sweet seductive companion” was apparently not seductive enough to wiggle her way out of prostitution charges. North Kingstown, South Kingstown and East Providence police collaborated to nab the 28-year-old North Kingstown woman suspected of engaging in prostitution in her apartment. An EP detective went undercover to the woman’s apartment after police discovered her online ad – which described her as a “sweet seductive companion” and “curvy sweet dark chocolate” who exclusively catered to the “older men.” When the EP detective …

  Dog Survives 11-Miles While Wedged in Car Grille If ever there was a dog that deserved the name Lucky, it would be this poodle. According to East Providence police, the little pup (named Suzie) survived an 11-mile journey from Taunton to EP – while wedged in the grille of a car. The dog was struck by a car after it ran into the road. The driver, unaware there was a canine stuck to his car, continued driving until someone flagged him down in East Providence. Suzie somehow managed to avoid serious injury, suffering a concussion, and was later reunited with her owners. Eager to Avoid 5 O’Clock…

He won't leave his car for anyone A Newport man received DUI, simple assault, resisting and vandalism charges this week after he was reportedly removed from his car by police and, later, spit in the face of a nurse in the emergency room. The man was reportedly pulled over for reckless driving, but rolled up his windows and locked his doors when officers came to speak to him. When a third officer arrived, the man allegedly yelled racial obscenities and threatened that “families were in trouble.” After failed attempts to convince the man to open the door, police got the lockout tool and …

State Rep. arrested for marijuana possession State Rep. Bob Watson (R-East Greenwich) appeared in the news again this week for the wrong reasons. South Kingstown police arrested him for possession of marijuana. A plow driver called police when he saw an erratic driver “nearly” hit him, then pull up into a snowbank. The plow operator noted that Watson, when approached, smelled of alcohol. Police later reported that Watson had alcohol in the car, and was even seen drinking an open Natural Ice beer can, when police arrived. At one point, Watson said, "Do you know who I am? I'm the E.G. rep." One…

One Woonsocket man allegedly went on a rampage this week that stretched from Cumberland Farms to his residence down the street. When police arrived at the convenience store, they found trash cans turned over, hoses from the gas pumps on the ground and a large window at a nearby store broken. Moments later, the 39-year-old man’s roommate called police, claiming her roommate had returned home intoxicated and covered in blood. (Never a good combination.) Police reportedly arrived to find the man in the fetal position in the kitchen, slurring his speech and yelling “take me to jail.” The mayhem …

My Co-Pilot Is Yukon Jack A Smithfield man's New Year's Eve drive through Johnston had a smashing finale — literally. Police reported that they found the man's 1993 Thunderbird off the side of the road with major front-end damage from an apparent accident. They suspected he'd been drinking. According to the police, the man did admit to drinking and driving — and trying to toss a couple of 'nip' bottles of Yukon Jack into nearby bushes. He reportedly failed a field sobriety test, but refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Ma’am? I Think You Forgot Something… A Cranston police officer got quite a…

A Very Taser Christmas Police arrived to the house of a 56-year-old North Kingstown man after he allegedly assaulted a woman while highly intoxicated. Apparently, the man’s very un-Christmas behavior wasn’t exclusive to the woman he allegedly assaulted. After flicking a lit cigarette at one officer, the shirtless man (yes, shirtless) was Tasered. The man was Tasered two additional times after becoming increasingly more violent. When it was all said and done, the man had assaulted four officers (shoving one officer’s arm through a window) and racked up eight misdemeanors in the process. Not …

Trying to Get on Santa’s ‘Nice’ List One North Kingstown woman had a unique way of trying to get on Santa’s “nice” list this year. South Kingstown police responded to the Wakefield Mall and arrested the 52-year-old woman after she reportedly shoplifted five DVDs – “Cinderella Man,” “Hellraiser,” “Alpha Dog,” “Direct Action” and “28 Days Later” – from FYE. Coincidentally, it wasn’t the only commotion she caused at the mall that day. While investigating the alleged shoplifting, police spoke to the man portraying Santa Claus at the mall who told officers that the woman did a bit more than get …

Christmas Tree Becomes Victim in Domestic Dispute   After becoming upset over a family issue, one Middletown man did the only rational thing possible: he took it out on the Christmas (or holiday, if you so please) tree. Police arrived at the man’s house at about 1 a.m. this week for reports of domestic disturbance. At the home, officers reportedly found the living room and kitchen in disarray and Christmas ornaments scattered about the floor. No tree was in sight. The man reportedly directed officers to the back door, where he had thrown the Christmas tree outside in his anger. Basketball? …

A 45-year-old Cranston man risked his own life while stealing copper wires from utility poles to sell the copper as scrap. He was caught in the act of cutting ground wires from utility poles on several city streets, and he was charged with felony larceny. "This is the first instance I've heard of someone actually pulling the ground wire from the poles," said David Graves, a spokesman for National Grid. "It's one of the most foolhardy actions you can take. It's foolish for someone to grab hold of a ground wire and start cutting away with a metal device or tool. It's inviting injury and could …

Woonsocket police officers had to deal with more than an unruly 32-year-old man when they went to arrest him outside his apartment – they had a crowd of bystanders cheering and chanting as the suspect battled officers. When officers put the man on the ground for a pat-down, he allegedly kicked backwards and hit one officer in the groin. That sparked cheers from the crowd. The man reportedly continued to struggle inside the police cruiser, kicking the inside window of the car, threatening to assault officers, and stating that his sister was a lawyer and he would sue. At the police station, he …

A North Kingstown criminal who failed in his first attempted robbery apparently learned quickly, improved his tactics and succeeded an hour later in a second convenience store. The man walked into one convenience store wearing a hooded sweatshirt, ski mask and gloves and demanded money in the cash register – but showed no weapon. The clerk, after asking the suspect if he was "kidding," refused to empty the register. About an hour later, the man walked into a second convenience store – but this time he flashed a box cutter. This clerk complied, and the man ran out with about $200 in cash. …

When a Cranston police officer approached a 50-year-old Providence man riding his bike while toting a white bag the night of Nov. 1, they asked him what he was doing. "I'm out here stealing," he said. "Stealing is what I do." The man was wearing a coat that was "bulging," police said. He had been going into unlocked cars and lifting GPS systems and more. He was arraigned, ordered to pay restitution and serve a one-year suspended sentence. Just five days later, he was back at it. Officers were called around 2:30 a.m. for a report of a man on a bicycle stealing from a car. This time, officers …

Babysitter could use a review or two...A Providence woman faces charges of larceny and contributing to the delinquency of a minor after she allegedly took the youth she was babysitting on a shoplifting trip to Burlington Coat Factory in Johnston. According to police, store staffers said the woman let the kid put several items in one bag, then covered up the stolen goods with bags of merchandise that she'd purchased legally. The woman fled the store when loss prevention staffers tried to stop the pair — leaving the child behind. The kid — who was charged with larceny and released to the …

A Coventry man with a 13-year-old passenger in his car took a wrong turn while following GPS, got the car stuck on railroad tracks in Woonsocket and had to leap from the car moments later with a train bearing down on them. The train was traveling just 25 miles per hour but the conductors couldn’t stop it, and they slammed into the 1998 Volvo. Nobody was hurt, but the car was destroyed. Toddler drives cart into carA 2-year-old boy had his first brush with the law when he climbed into a golf cart at Clark Farm in South Kingstown, hit the gas pedal and drove into a parked minivan. The boy was …

A would-be high school volleyball coach with a colorful criminal history did not land the job after school administrators discovered he had lied on his application and forged FBI documents. The Cranston man’s application immediately raised red flags, particularly the criminal background check. Instead of coming on official Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office letterhead, it arrived on a blank piece of paper purportedly from the FBI. He also submitted a fake e-mail pretending to be the FBI. The man, who was stepping in for a coach who is suddenly ill, attended a few practices and was about …

Two men took their road-rage confrontation to a higher level when they stopped on a Route 24 off-ramp and one man drew a loaded gun and pointed it at the other. The second man fought back by driving his pickup into the gun-wielding man’s car, pinning the driver’s door closed. The 55-year-old with the gun climbed out the other side of the car and continued to point the gun. When a third man drove up to see what was going on, he was told to get out of there. Not surprisingly, he did. But the two combatants weren’t alone for long. The cops showed up and ended the confrontation without bloodshed…

You think your town had a bad week, check out North Kingstown. First, they discovered a man’s partially decomposed body in the back seat of a pickup truck that had been sitting in a public parking lot for a couple of weeks. Then this little storm called “Irene” rolled through, and if that wasn’t enough, a tornado touched down briefly in one neighborhood. The next day, two people were sent to the hospital after a house fire that started in a powerless home from either a gas grill or a candle. The next day, a nasty two-car accident forced firefighters to use the Jaws of Life to get the driver …

Pizza delivery man sexually harassed A 22-year-old delivery driver for a Narragansett pizza restaurant called police after a customer offered him a lot more than a tip. The delivery guy told police that when he delivered a pizza, the male customer paid the bill, plus a tip, and then offered to perform oral sex on the delivery guy — and even more, he offered to pay the delivery guy $100 for the privilege. The delivery guy declined and instead called the cops. Angry assailant turns to arson A fight between three Newport men escalated when one of the men tried to torch another’s business. The …