K-9 Unit Tracks Down Juvenile Suspect

The K-9 unit assisted in the arrest of a 16-year-old male suspected of assaulting a Falmouth Street resident and trying to break into the home later the same day.

Ptlm. Matthew Leveille reported on Sept. 9 that he went to Enfield Street at about 9 pm after a witness told police about a woman "screaming and yelling" in the area.

Leveille spoke with the 19-year-old, who said her 16-year-old boyfriend had assaulted her a short time earlier.

Cumberland Police had also issued a BOLO [be on the lookout] message for the juvenile, who was suspected of stealing a car in that town and making threats against the victim and her family, Leveille reported.

The 19-year-old told Leveille that the suspect approached her just after she had been dropped off and "made her walk with him" away from her home.

Leveille also wrote that the woman said the suspect broke a glass bottle and threatened her with it, and tried to drag her into nearby woods.

The suspect punched the woman several times, according to Leveille's report of her statements, and then took her purse and cell phone and fled into the woods.

Ptlm. Philip Veins and police K-9 Bono responded to the area and searched the woods for the suspect, but did not find him.

Less than 30 minutes later, police dispatch received a call from the victim's home that the suspect had returned, carrying a baseball bat.

When officers arrived, Viens and Bono again went into the woods to search for the suspect, this time locating him.

At police headquarters, officers charged the juvenile with midsemeanor counts of breaking and entering, larceny, domestic assault, and domestic disorderly conduct.

Family Court Judge Debra DiSegna ordered the suspect held at the Rhode Island Training School, Cranston, until a court hearing to be scheduled. Officers also contacted the suspect's guardian and advised her of the incident.