Rhode Island

Cranston, R.I., public schools dean charged with drunken driving – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

April 1, 2025

Cranston, R.I., public schools dean charged with drunken driving – The Boston Globe

PROVIDENCE – A dean of students for public schools in Cranston, R.I., was arrested on the suspicion of drunken driving after police allegedly found him passed out behind the wheel of a Volvo SUV and stopped at an intersection early on Monday morning, according to authorities.

Vincent L. Turchetta, Jr., 61, was charged with driving under the influence and with refusal to submit a chemical test, Cranston police wrote in a report.

Court records show Turchetta was released on personal recognizance later on Monday. An arraignment is scheduled for April 8.

Turchetta did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

Jennifer Cowart, a spokesperson for Cranston Public Schools, confirmed in an email that Turchetta is a district employee.

“Cranston Public Schools administration is aware of the incident regarding Vincent Turchetta,” the district’s leadership team said in a statement. “This is a personnel matter and therefore, the district has no further comment.”

According to a police report, authorities responded to a 911 call around 12:44 a.m. reporting a man passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle at the intersection of Park and Reservoir avenues.

Responding officers found a gray, Volvo SUV stopped in the westbound left turn lane, as well as two other vehicles behind it attempting to turn left onto Reservoir Avenue while beeping their horns.

In body camera video footage obtained by the Globe, an officer can be seen knocking on the driver’s side window of the vehicle several times. When the man – who later identified himself on video as Turchetta – responds, the officer tells him to take his foot off the brake, put the vehicle in park, and turn off the engine.

“While I was briefly inside of the cabin of the vehicle, I could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage,” Officer Nicholas Snowling wrote in the report.

Turchetta told police he was heading home after going to a house party in Warwick and that he had three beers, the video shows.

When asked why he was stopped at the intersection, Turchetta told police, “I don’t know, man. I was just trying to get home,” the video shows.

Snowling wrote that while he was speaking to Turchetta, he could “smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath, along with mumbled speech and blood shot water[y] eyes.”

According to police, Turchetta declined to take field sobriety tests, at which point officers told him he was under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence.

According to a 2021 report from The Cranston Herald, Turchetta previously served on the Cranston School Committee.

He resigned from the Ward 4 seat that year, telling the Herald it was “a good time to take a break” and citing scheduling issues, as he was teaching at the Community College of Rhode Island and at Coventry High School at the time.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.

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Rhode Island

Star-studded cast of ‘My Boyfriend is a Demon,’ filming in RI, released

Published

11 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Star-studded cast of ‘My Boyfriend is a Demon,’ filming in RI, released

A new horror movie titled “My Boyfriend is a Demon” is currently filming in Rhode Island.
The film follows a lonely girl whose fake Instagram boyfriend materializes in real life.
The cast includes children of famous actors, such as Mattias Ferrell and Coco Arquette.
Veteran actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette are also part of the ensemble cast.

Verdi Productions’ secret horror movie, “My Boyfriend is a Demon,” now filming in Rhode Island, is no longer a secret as Chad A. Verdi, the East Greenwich production company’s president, has announced the cast and given an outline of the movie’s plot.

The ensemble cast comprises veteran actors and rising young talents. The story follows Mary, a lonely, small-town girl who creates a fake Instagram account that pretends to be boyfriend, a guy too perfect to be real. Mary puts so much effort into making him “real” that he shows up at her door one day.

The cast includes:

Mattias Ferrell, son of comic actor Will Ferrell and known for “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”
Coco Arquette, daughter of Courteney Cox and David Arquette and known for “Cougar Town.”
David Arquette, known for his work in the “Scream” film franchise.
Rosanna Arquette, David’s sister and Coco’s aunt, known for “The Moment.”
Bailey Sloan, known for “Ragamuffin.”
Jack Champion, known for “Avatar.”
Ever Anderson, known for “Peter Pan & Wendy.”
Vinnie Hacker, known for “Euphoria.”
Josephine Reitman, known for “Juno.”
Savannah Lee Smith, kown for “Tunsel Town.”
Lisa Yamada, known for “Elle.”
Ty Law, known for “Friday Night Lights.”

“My Boyfriend is a Demon” is written and directed by first-time director mishka.

“My Boyfriend is a Demon” is filming in Providence

The movie began filming in Rhode Island in April and has rented Providence’s Cranston Street Armory for the month of May to use as a studio.

The producing team for Verdi Productions includes Chad A. Verdi, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, Michelle Verdi and Sera Verdi. Executive producers include Ketchup Entertainment and Kinolime.

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Rhode Island

Weather Now: Showers, T’storm Today

Published

24 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Good morning! Happy Thursday! Today will be pretty unsettled with the chance for showers and t’storms. Friday will still be damp with showers and drizzle, but the weekend still looks amazing!

The one good thing with the rain, for allergy sufferers at least, the pollen levels will be lower. In fact, both today and tomorrow, the tree pollen counts will be low locally. Do expect a spike in the pollen count for Saturday and Sunday with the dry weather.

INTERACTIVE RADAR: Live Pinpoint Weather 12 Radar »

“https://www.wpri.com/weather-now/weather-now-for-thu-5-14-26/” FLIGHT TRACKER

“https://www.wpri.com/weather-now/weather-now-for-thu-5-14-26/” POWER OUTAGES

TODAY

Hour-by-hour forecast for today…

Hour by Hour // A close look at the upcoming conditions »

We’ll have some showers around during the morning commute today, but the greatest chance for showers and t’storms will be after 9AM and before 5PM.

Showers and thunderstorms could slow travel around mid-day. Rain could fall heavily at times.

A line of showers and t’storms will be sweeping across the area through the afternoon as a slow-moving weather systems moves through the region.

Highs today will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s with southeast to east winds of 5-15mph.

“https://www.wpri.com/weather-now/weather-now-for-thu-5-14-26/” BEACH AND BOATING FORECASTS

TONIGHT

Showers are still possible this evening; although they won’t be as numerous.

TOMORROW

That low center will be nearby Friday morning, and we’ll be stuck with a damp, cool windflow. Expect drizzle and showers in the morning and possibly some lingering showers in the afternoon.

Highs Friday will only be in the 50s. The average high this time of year is in the upper 60s.

LOOKING AHEAD

Then…there’s the weekend. Saturday looks amazing with lots of sunshine and dry weather. It’ll be warmer, too, with highs in the 70s.

-Meteorologist T.J. Del Santo

T.J. Del Santo (tdelsanto@wpri.com) is the weekday morning and noon meteorologist for 12 News. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Threads and BlueSky.

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