Police Log: Aug. 13 to Aug. 16

Possession of marijuana:

Johnston Police arrested David M. Medina, 21, on a charge of possession of marijuana, first offense and driving in possession of a
controlled substance on Aug. 14.

Medina's vehicle passed by Ptlm. Joseph Salvadore as he was on patrol in the area of Killingly Street and Greenville Avenue, Salvadore pulled over Medina for the dark tint on his car windows.

As Salvadore spoke with Medina, the officer reported, the he could smell a marijuana odor allegedly coming from inside the vehicle. Medina was ordered out of the car and when asked if he had weapons or illegal narcotics on him, Medina responded: “Yo, I don’t know. Find out,” according to Salvadore’s report.

During the search Medina allegeldy admitted to having marijuana hidden in his groin area. Medina was placed under arrest.

Larceny arrest:

Police arrested Justin A. Russel, 20, of 21 City View Parkway, Johnston, on a charge of larceny over $500, resisting arrest, and four outstanding warrants.

On April 21 an acquaintance of Russell’s responded to Johnston Police Headquarters to file a larceny complaint. The victim told Johnston Patrolman Stephen R. Altomari that she was at Russell’s home in March and she left her Dell laptop and other items at Russell’s residence. The acquaintance contacted Russell several times. He allegedly delayed and then refused to give the property back. The victim saved text messages Russell allegedly sent stating that she could sue him in small claims court and threatening her that he would “go on a rampage” if she contacted the police, according to Altomari’s report. A warrant for Russell’s arrest was issued on Aug. 16.

At about 8 p.m. on August 16, Det. Lt. Frank Levesque, Det. James
Brady, Det. Christopher DeCesare, Sgt. Michael Babbitt, Patrolman Kevin Brady, and Patrolman Derek Parascandolo responded to 21 City View Parkway in an attempt to locate Russell. Det. Brady positioned himself in the driveway of the home. As the officers entered the home through the front door, Det. Brady saw Russell running around in the basement. Brady entered through the backdoor of the home and told Levesque that someone was in the basement. When the door to the basement was opened Brady noticed the lights had been turned off.

Brady turned the lights when he reached the bottom of the stairs with the other officer. They located Russell hiding in the back of the basement. Russell struggled briefly with the officers and then he was handcuffed and taken into custody. Russell allegedly told the officers he ran into the basement thinking there was another way out of the home, according to the police reports.