Details of Search, Seizure at URI Raid Released

Unless otherwise noted, information about the following incidents was supplied by the South Kingstown Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

For a previous report on these arrests, click here.

A fraudulent purchase of a foot-tall glass water pipe led to the raid of an apartment shared by University of Rhode Island students on Feb. 6, South Kingstown police said.

According to police, they received a report of a stolen Mastercard, which was used by Opeyemi N. Onipede, 19, of 35 Stansbury St., Providence, at Absolut Market on Fortin Road to purchase the pipe.

As a result, arrest warrants were issued for Onipede, along with Jaquan Smith, 19, and Gibran Gonzalez, 20, of 701 Manton Ave., Apt. #2, Providence. All three were believed to be living at 15 Upper College Road. Smith was not located during the search.

Police said that they entered the apartment at about 7 a.m., using a battering ram to do so after the tenants didn’t answer the door. Police said Gonzalez was visible upon entry and immediately arrested.

According to police, a search of Gonzalez’s living space revealed:

• A small bag of marijuana
• A black iPod touch
• A Magellan Road Mate GPS
• A LG Droid phone
• Two Samsung T-Mobile phones
• A Nokia T-Mobile phone
• A Bank of America Visa debit card
• A Fossil wristwatch
• A Joelton Middle School 2007 class ring with the name ‘Chris’ inscribed
• An iPod touch

Police said that when asked about the property, Gonzalez said they were not his, but denied stealing them.

According to police, based on open incident reports, most of the items were believed to be stolen. Two of the phones had been reported stolen, and the GPS and the other cell phone memories had either been erased, or the batteries were drained.

Police said that on March 11, a victim came forward to claim the iPod touch, and an additional charge was filed against Gonzalez. The victim told police the iPod was stolen while she was at Mackal on Feb. 26 at about 6:30 p.m.

According to police, on March 12 they were able to make contact with another victim, who confirmed that police had found his cell phone in Gonzalez’s room.

An additional charge of receiving stolen property was filed. Police said the man’s report was initially filed in April 2012.

Police said that on March 13, based on the charge filed on March 12, they were able to trace a stolen MacBook Pro to Gonzalez as well. Police said that during the search, the victim’s ID was found at the apartment. A man told police that he bought the computer from Gonzalez for $600 at URI.

According to police, while searching 15 Upper College Road, Edwin Leonardo, 21, of 14 Lynn St., Providence, was also arrested. Police said Leonardo was sleeping in a first floor bedroom at the time of the search.

Police said a search of Leonardo’s room revealed 211 tabs of ecstasy. As a result, he was charged with felony drug distribution.

According to police, Kyle R. Evans, 20, of 84 Lubec St., Providence, was arrested after a search of his room revealed four bags of marijuana, 20 tabs of ecstasy and several cans of Narragansett beer.

Evans was charged with felony drug possession and possession of marijuana, and cited for possession of alcohol by a minor.

When asked about the other stolen goods in the house, Evans allegedly told police he had stopped hanging out with his roommates “since they started stealing everyone’s stuff from down at the gym.”

According to police, 25 tabs of MDMA (ecstasy), and nine ID and bank cards, were also confiscated during the search. Police said these items were located in a common area.

Unless otherwise noted, the information for this article was compiled from South Kingstown police reports, which are available for review by any member of the public at their headquarters. If we’re missing a call or report you’re interested in knowing about, feel free to leave a comment or to send Local Editor Stephen Greenwell a message at Stephen.greenwell@patch.com.

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