PORTSMOUTH — Seventeen Roger Williams University students were arrested for underage drinking at an Island Park bar shortly before midnight on Thursday, April 25.
An undercover officer went to the Beach House to observe patrons and employees at the establishment and saw several young adults who appeared to be under 21 consuming alcohol, according to Lt. Brian Peters.
At 11:50 p.m., more officers and detectives entered the bar and began checking IDs, subsequently arresting 17 students.
“A few of them were also charged with obstruction of justice after presenting a fraudulent ID; they insisted that was them and they were over the age of 21,” said Lt. Peters, adding that nine fake IDs were seized.
The students were transported back to police headquarters and issued summonses to appear in District Court on May 9.
Charged with unlawful drinking-misuse of an ID card and obstructing and officer were: James M. Carroll, 20, of Needham, Mass.; Samantha F. Palumbo, 19, of Northford, Conn.; Colin E. Pottbecker, 20, of Morris, Conn.; and Dylan T. Matteo, 20, of Oceanside, N.Y.
The following individuals were charged with unlawful drinking-ID card misuse: Caitlin E. Richard, 20, of Lincoln; Jacquelyn M. Farah, 20, of Methuen, Mass.; Rachel L. Jones, 20, of Essex, Mass.; Lindsay Dahlquist, 19, of Quincy, Mass.; Cameron R. Hanify, 20, of Holden, Mass.; David J. Balzotti, 20, of Duxbury, Mass.; Sean P. Miller, 19, of Fairfield, Conn.; Sarah A. Valenti, 19, of Trumbull, Conn.; Anna P. Bernath, 19, of Newtown, Conn.; Sarah R. Fish, 19, of Marlborough, Conn.; Alanna M. Faughnan, 20, of Mount Sinai, N.Y.; Casey Connors, 20, of Sugar Hill, N.H.; and Francis A. Szamboti, 19, of Harleysville, Penn.
Here’s the rest of the police log for the past week:
Wednesday, April 17
Police took three cats from a Pine Street woman after getting a call about stray cats in the area around 8:30 a.m. The woman admitted taking in the strays two weeks earlier but said she could no longer care for them in addition to her other animals. The three cats were taken to the Potter League in Middletown.
Friday, April 19
Police responded to the area of East Main Road at Hargraves Drive around 4:20 p.m. for a report of dogs in the roadway. Police found a brown pit bull with no collar and a white pug at a nearby home. The pit bull was being aggressive and came toward an officer, who yelled at it until it retreated. The owner of the dogs later came to the station and apologized to police and said he’d prevent the dogs from getting out in the future. Both dogs were licensed, he said.
Monday, April 22
Ronald Bowler walked into police headquarters around 3:30 p.m. to report that the vehicle he was driving hit a pothole in the area of 182 East Main Road at about 8:10 a.m. He said his car then started making a banging noise in the front end of the passenger side.
Tuesday, April 23
A vehicle driven by Kenneth J. Durand of Riverside was traveling north on East Main Road when it hit a utility pole at about 8:40 a.m. Mr. Durand said he had swerved to voice hitting a car that had stopped short in front of him. His car sustained heavy front-end damage and was towed. National Grid arrived to repair the broken pole.
A car driven by Jacquelyn Daguanno of Riverside became disabled after hitting a pothole on East Main Road near Anna D’s Cafe around 9:20 a.m. Both passenger-side tires were damaged extensively and the vehicle was towed away,
A vehicle driven by Todd Powell, of 71 Harvest Drive, rear-ended a car driven by Candida Freitas, of 85 Glen Road, on East Main Road near the Fire Department at about 5:30 p.m. Police said Ms. Freitas had to stop short to avoid hitting a trash barrel that had blown into the road.
Friday, April 26
A car driven by Stephen J. Sullivan, of 726 Park Ave., Apt. 8, hit a telephone pole near 675 Park Ave. around 2:25 a.m. Mr. Sullivan told police he took his eyes off the road when a call came in on his cell phone. Police said it didn’t appear alcohol played a factor in the accident. The car sustained heavy damage.
Thomas Roney, 25, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was issued a District Court summons on a charge of operating with an expired license following an accident on East Main Road at McCorrie Lane around 2:10 p.m. Mr. Roney told police he was tired and fell asleep just before arriving at the intersection, where his vehicle rear-ended one driven by Luke Fleury of 24 Raynham Ave. Mr. Fleury complained of neck and back pain and was taken for treatment by rescue workers. Mr. Roney’s car was towed from the scene.
Two vehicles were heavily damaged after colliding on Union Street at Acorn Lane around 4:45 p.m. Police said the front end of a car driven by Anthony Cottrell, of 33 Stubtoe Lane, hit the front passenger side of a vehicle driven by Stephen Rabenold, of 214 Spring Hill Road. Mr. Rabenold was traveling west and was turning left into the driveway of 222 Union St. when the accident occurred. The mailbox at that address was damaged, police said.
Saturday, April 27
John Flanders of 57 Bancroft Drive told police that a vehicle ran over his mailbox and fled the scene shortly before 2 p.m. He described the vehicle as a tan SUV with Massachusetts tags.
Steve Caminis, of 41 Lawton Brook Lane, told police his rear driver’s side window was smashed by some object as he drove south on Route 24 near the Montaup Country Club around 3:30 p.m. Police said it’s possible that a golf ball from the country club could have been the source of the damage, although no golf balls or any other objects were found inside the vehicle. Mr. Caminis was uninjured.
Police found small amounts of a “greenish brown leafy substance” during a probable-cause search of a car occupied by four men — ages 18 and 19 — on Cedar Island around 4 p.m. (Police were in the area to look for possible witnesses of suspects in the above incident.) The driver said they had not been smoking but were preparing to. No arrests were made.