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Coventry, R.I. – According to police, over the past several months, detectives with the Coventry Police Department’s Special Operations Unit initiated a narcotics investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in and around the Town of Coventry. Through extensive surveillance and investigative efforts, detectives identified 33-year-old Richard Martin Jr., of Beach Street, Coventry, R.I., as the primary target of the investigation.
During the course of the investigation, multiple associates were identified, along with additional residences, located within the City of Warwick, frequently utilized by Martin Jr. and his associates.
On April 6th, detectives from the Coventry Police Department, in conjunction with detectives from the Warwick Police Department, executed multiple court-authorized search warrants in an effort to dismantle the organization.
During the course of a search warrant in Coventry, detectives, along with K9 Nixo, located approximately 1.8 pounds of suspected cocaine concealed within a sophisticated vehicle hide. Additionally, a 9mm handgun, a large sum of cash, along with packaging and weighing materials consistent with drug trafficking, were recovered from the residence.
As a result of the investigation, Martin Jr. has been charged with two counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Use of a Firearm While Committing a Crime of Violence, and Controlled Substance Conspiracy.
Additionally, 40-year-old Jason Tallo, of Warwick, R.I., an alleged narcotics trafficking accomplice of Martin Jr., was taken into custody in the Town of Coventry and was subsequently charged with Controlled Substance Conspiracy.
Martin Jr. and Tallo were transported to Kent County District Court, where they were arraigned on their respective charges before a 3rd District Court judge. Martin Jr. was subsequently ordered to be held without bail, while Tallo had his bail set at $25,000 with surety.
This investigation remains ongoing and additional arrests are expected
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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