One-Man Ping Pong Plan Leads to Vandalism Charge in East Greenwich

EAST GREENWICH, RI—A 19-year-old Woonsocket man was charged with vandalism after his desire to play ping pong by himself led to the destruction of a table at the New England Tech campus in East Greenwich.

Mario Miguel Melgar, of Elm St., turned himself in to police on Sept. 10 after police reached him by telephone following the vandalism complaint.

According to a police report, a member of the school's security team told police that she kicked Melgar out of the building after the table was damaged.

The security team member said that Melgar tried to get on a school shuttle bus because he didn't have an ID. He then went back into the building and ventured into the game room.

Video footage from the facility showed Melgar play pool and ping pong with another student. When that student left, Melgar is seen talking to a maintenance worker "how to flip one side of the ping pong table up so that he can play by himself," according to the report.

The maintenance worker said the table doesn't flip up and left. Alone, "Melgar is seen . . .laying underneath the ping pong table. He appears to be attempting to take the table apart. He then attempted to flip the table up causing it to break and bend."

Melgar then got the attention of a maintenance worker who tried to fix the table. Security was notified and that led to Melgar getting booted from the building.

Police said the table is valued at about $2,200.

Police contacted Melgar who promised to take a bus down to East Greenwich's police headquarters but never showed. Police called him again and he apologized and said he missed the bus. Eventually, he hitched a ride with family members and was later released with a summons to appear in Kent County District Court on Sept. 23.