Crime & Safety

Police Log: Sept. 24 to 30

This is a summary of reports provided to JohnstonPatch by the Johnston Police Department for Sept. 24 to Sept. 30. Where an arrest is reported, it does not indicate a conviction.

Arrests following accident on I-295:

arrested two men in the early morning hours of Sept. 30 after the driver allegedly failed to report an accident, and his passenger reportedly argued with officers and resisted arrest.

At about 2:10 a.m., Sgt. Dennis Peacock and Ptlmn. Ryan Lemieux, Dana Gousie, Thomas Hayden, and Jeffrey Cicchitelli responded to the Mobil gas station at 1901 Plainfield Pike, where they spoke to a clerk at the store, who had called 9-1-1 to report a car accident.

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The driver of the vehicle, Jason Batista, of Branchville, NJ, reportedly told officers that he had fallen asleep while driving his father's 2007 Mercedes ML320 on I-295.

According to Lemieux's report, Batista said that he "was awoken by the sound of his vehicle hitting something just off the roadway."

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Gousie then went to I-295 South and found parts of the vehicle near mile marker post 7.6, in the area of Exit 5.

Since Batista had not reported the accident, police charged him with failure to report an accident resulting in damage to a highway sign, and released him with a summons to appear in Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal on Nov. 10.

As officers tried to speak with Batista about the incident, one of two passengers in the car, Jason Tomaselli, of Cranston, "repeatedly tried to stop Batista from speaking with officers," Lemieux reported.

Cicchitelli also reported that Tomaselli "appeared to be intoxicated" and grew increasingly belligerent toward officers.

Tomaselli, Cicchitelli wrote, "repeatedly interrupted officers on scene by screaming a variety of obscenities," and allegedly stated: "My daddy is a high class lawyer [sic] and not a lowly servant like you so you better not bust my [expletive]."

When officers told Tomaselli that they would arrest him for disorderly conduct, Tomaselli allegedly replied: "[Expletive] you, go ahead and try to arrest me."

Tomaselli also reportedly called his brother, who was at the scene, to help him.

The clerk of the store reportedly told officers that Tomaselli had threatened him when he said he would call police to report the accident.

Hayden reported that Tomaselli resisted the officers' attempts to place him in a police cruiser, and when brought to the police department, Tomaselli "refused to be processed."

Police charged Tomaselli with two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of resisting arrest. He was released pending a pretrial conference in Third District Court scheduled for Nov. 4.

Domestic Assault:

Police charged Tara Spendolini, with an address of 2154 Hartford Ave. #4 (Bel Air Motor Inn), with domestic simple assault and domestic disorderly conduct, following a fight with her girlfriend on Sept. 24.

According to Ptlm. Dana Gousie, the victim told officers that she and Spendolini had been arguing when Spendolini allegedly pushed her off their bed, struck her several times, and bit her on the arm.

Officers reportedly found bruises and bite marks on the victim.

At the police department, Gousie reported that the victim "stopped cooperating" when she learned that Spendolini had been arrested.

Spendolini is scheduled for arraignment in Third District Court on Oct. 5.


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