Here are some highlights from the Portsmouth police log from the past week.
Monday, Aug. 12
Meryl L. McGaw, 29, of 65 Riverside Ave., was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer in execution of his duty. After receiving a report of a suspicious vehicle on Riverside Avenue around 1 a.m., Police Sgt. Stephen Burns found the car and pulled it over on Chase Road. Ms. McGaw was a passenger in the car, and police said she provided false information regarding her identification — four different names, two different dates of birth and two different partial Social Security numbers. After being asked to step out of the vehicle, she started screaming obscenities at an officer, according to police.
Mitchell Guild of Wrentham, Mass. told police that a partially deflated dinghy that he left tied to a tree on the shoreline at Weaver Cove mooring field overnight had been stolen or was missing. The dinghy is more than 20 years old with a series of patches and a worn-out plywood floor.
Wednesday, Aug. 14
Fernando E. Bracamonte, 51, of Springfield, Mass., was charged with driving while intoxicated (first offense) and refusal to submit to a chemical test. The vehicle he was driving was pulled over on East Main Road near Foodworks around 6:20 a.m. after it was observed swerving and hitting the curb of the roadway, police said.
A vehicle driven by Teddiann Wilson of Taunton, Mass. and a large truck with a trailer in town being operated by Lawrence Parenteau of North Scituate collided on West Main Road near Union Street around 8:50 a.m. The Wilson car sustained disabling damage to its left, front bumper and wheel well.
A police officer suffered minor burns to her hand while removing a dog from a pickup truck that had caught fire around 9:40 a.m. Police found the red 1980 Suzuki truck in the northbound lane of West Main Road near Hedly Street engulfed in flames. The driver, Charles Kershaw, said he was traveling north on West Main Road when his vehicle began to smoke and then catch fire. Officer Maddie Pirri was on a road construction detail when she heard Mr. Kershaw yell for assistance. The dog was in the back portion of the truck and Officer Pirri burned her hand when she reached in the back portion of the truck to retrieve the dog, police said.
Thursday, Aug. 15
Melissa A. Baasch, 52, of 59 Raynham Ave., was charged at about 9:20 a.m. with furnishing or procuring alcohol for a minor. The charge stemmed from a complaint of a loud party at her home on Aug. 12 at about 9:20 p.m. On that night, police said they found 80 to 100 high school students surrounding a backyard stage where a deejay was playing music. After ordering them to shut down the music, police said they observed what appeared to be Sour Apple Pucker and several beer cans drop to the ground. Three adults walked over to the police: Ms. Baasch, Paul Donnelly and Victoria White. Mr. Donnelly said his son was the deejay and Ms. Baasch’s daughter was throwing the party. Both he and Ms. Baasch denied any alcohol was present, before Officer Jacob Silva pointed out the numerous beer cans on the ground. “Once the crowd of juveniles cleared the area, I observed dozens of empty and full beer cans as well as the bottle of Sour (Apple) Pucker alcohol,” Officer Silva wrote in his report. “I observed several backpacks full of beer cans and one contained a half-empty bottle of Burnett’s vodka … I observed several bags and backpacks around the property with alcohol in them, a beer pong table with beer, red solo cups and pong balls for the game.” The adults refused to answer questions, although they continually stated “they did a bad job of supervising and had no idea there was alcohol at the party,” the report states.
A four-vehicle, chain-reaction accident took place on West Main Road at Turkey Hill around 9 a.m. Police said a vehicle driven by William Moniz of Taunton, Mass. was heading south when he slowed down in a construction site. His foot slipped off the brake pedal, he told police, and his vehicle struck the rear of another driven by Kathleen Costello of Warren. That car then hit the car in front of it, driven by Becky Barlow of Fall River, which struck the rear of one operated by Angela McPherson of Tiverton, police said. The Costello car was towed from the scene, and all drivers declined medical treatment.
Another four-vehicle, chain-reaction accident took place around 1:35 a.m. on East Main Road near McCorrie Lane. Police said a vehicle operated by Liam Blank of Middletown was traveling south when the driver looked down at a “low fuel light” alert on his dashboard and rear-ended a car driven by Isabella Diluglio of North Providence. That car in turn struck the rear of one operated by Nicole Davis of Newport, which was pushed into the rear of a vehicle driven by Valeri Fournier of Riverside, police said. No one was injured, but the Diluglio and David vehicles sustained heavy damage to both their front and back ends, according to police.
Friday, Aug. 16
George Gomes Jr., 54, Seekonk, was charged with possession of schedule I, II, III, IV and V narcotics — a felony — after police responded to 22 Perrault St. for an “unwanted party” complaint around 12:45 a.m. Mr. Gomes was also served with a no-trespass order.
Zachary B. Emery, 23, of 100 Almeida Terrace, Apt. 305, was charged with driving while intoxicated (first offense), shortly before 2 a.m. Police said they found Mr. Emery hitchhiking on East Main Road, and he told them the car he had been driving hit a stone wall near the Verizon store. Police said they detected a moderate odor of alcohol on his breath. Police drove Mr. Emery to the scene of the crash, where the car was found to have sustained heavy front-end damage with both air bags deployed. Mr. Emery refused medical treatment.
Michael P. Garcia, 23, of 2050 East Main Road, Apt. 3, was charged on an active bench warrant issued by Second District Court. Mr. Garcia entered police headquarters around 8:35 a.m. to turn himself in, police said.
An ambulance and a Chevrolet Silverado traveling in opposite directions on Mt. Hope Bridge collided around 6:30 p.m. Police said the extended side mirrors of the vehicles struck each other on the narrow span. The New England ambulance was operated by Lauren Anslo of Johnston, who continued on her run and later reported the collision to police. The truck was driven by Manuel Benevides of Warren.
Saturday, Aug. 17
Neil H. Cain, 20, of 24 Islington Ave., Portsmouth, was charged on an active warrant for his arrest for procurement/purchase of alcohol for a minor. Police with knowledge of the warrant, which stemmed from an July 26 underage drinking party on Sakonnet Drive, spotted Mr. Cain around 8:25 a.m. while on routine patrol in Common Fence Point.
Cody J. Platt, 19, of 9 Gould St., Newport, was arrested around 3:45 p.m. on an active bench warrant issued by Second District Court. Police said he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped on West Main Road for having an expired inspection sticker.
Sunday, Aug. 18
Peter Tardif, 55, of 502 Black Point Lane, was charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon or substance, after police received a report of an assault that had taken place at a Black Point Lane home shortly after 8 p.m. According to police, the victim said a man riding a speeding, green all-terrain vehicle (ATV) intentionally struck her with the vehicle after she tried to approach him. The victim said she fell to the ground and the ATV’s front tire ran over her left leg, which received multiple lacerations. Police said there was a female passenger, between the ages of 14 and 16, on the back of the ATV. Mr. Tardif, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself into police headquarters at 9 a.m., police said.
Monday, Aug. 19
Brittany K. Booher, 21, of 18 Algonquin Drive, Middletown, was charged with driving while intoxicated (first offense) and refusal to submit to a chemical test after police found a vehicle on fire on West Main Road just north of the Lehigh Overlook around 1 a.m. A witness said the operator had left the area in another vehicle, which was later stopped by Middletown police at Ms. Booher’s home. She told police she was driving home on West Main Road when her vehicle caught fire, but didn’t stay on the scene because she needed to get home to her infant son. Police said they detected a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, and she was swaying and appeared unsteady on her feet.
Police received a report around 8:15 a.m. of a person laying down in the woods in the area of Lawton Brook Lane. Police said they found an extremely intoxicated 43-year-old female laying topless and sleeping with her head on a rock. She had difficulty speaking and it was clear she was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, police said. She was taken to Newport Hospital for further evaluation.