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Police target River Street bar in drug arrests |
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
WOONSOCKET — The police department continued its crackdown on trafficking in cocaine and other drugs in and around River Street liquor establishments Thursday while arresting two men alleged to have completed a cocaine transaction near the Our Pad bar at 446 River St.
Members of the department’s undercover Special Squad arrested Han Nhem, 36, of 41 Rockland St., on a charge of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, and Christopher A. Rattie, 25, of 419 Liverpool Ave., Pawtucket, on charges of possession of cocaine and a dangerous weapon, a knife, following an investigation near the business Thursday evening.
Police reported that Our Pad became the focus of the department’s undercover surveillance after a recent arrest for delivery of Ecstasy resulted in information that drug customers were arranging purchases of drugs from dealers both inside the bar and in the surrounding River Street neighborhood.
Providence police detectives were reported to have collected information about drug transactions at Our Pad, and the owner of the establishment has also lodged complaints about drug trafficking in the area of the business, police said.
Two Special Squad members stationed in the area of River and Fairmount streets Thursday evening reported seeing Rattie walk away from Our Pad’s front door at about 7:45 p.m. and begin looking for a car along River Street.
A short time later, Nhem pulled up in front of the bar in a maroon 2000 four-door Lincoln and Rattie got in, police said.
The undercover detectives followed Nhem through the nearby High/Arnold Street neighborhood before he brought Rattie back to the bar, police said. According to police, such short drives are commonly used by dealers completing drug sales.
One of the detectives approached Rattie outside Our Pad while the other followed Nhem’s vehicle as it left the area.
As he faced apprehension, Rattie told the detective he had just been in prison for seven years and did not want to return, police said.
The suspect allegedly tried to free himself from the detective’s grip, then tried to slip out of his jacket, police said. After the detective again identified himself as a police officer and displayed his badge, Rattie allegedly kept trying to get away, pulling the police officer into middle of River Street, causing both to fall to the asphalt.
With help from fellow officers, the detective took Rattie into custody without further incident. During a check of the suspect, the detective allegedly found that Rattie had been carrying a folding knife with a blade 3.25 inches long. Police also reported recovering a baggie containing cocaine that Rattie allegedly had tried to toss under a car during the struggle,
Police said Rattie served seven years of a 15-year sentence for a robbery/murder conviction.
Meanwhile, during a check of Nhem’s vehicle, the second undercover detective allegedly found a bogus Coca Cola can on the passenger side floor that concealed two bags of cocaine.
The police department’s beefed-up undercover patrols of illegal drug activity in the area also netted suspects outside Aly’s Riverside Pub, 80 River St. At the same time, they reportedly collected information about illicit activity going on inside that bar.
Aly’s Riverside Pub, operated by Alycyn Bouckaert, is on Monday night’s City Council agenda for consideration of a license transfer to Marc P. Robert of 3 Ashburne St., Pawtucket. City Council President Leo T. Fontaine could not be reached for comment about the license transfer request. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 May 2008 )
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