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.

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at March 31, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 31 drawing

12-41-44-52-64, Powerball: 25, Power Play: 2

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Winning Lucky For Life numbers from March 31 drawing

08-31-39-40-42, Lucky Ball: 04

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Winning Numbers numbers from March 31 drawing

Midday: 7-5-3-5

Evening: 2-6-2-8

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from March 31 drawing

03-09-31-34-36, Extra: 06

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

• Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
• Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
• Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
• Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
• Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
• Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
• Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form. Our News Automation and AI team would love to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.

Bill S. 0451, which was introduced to the Rhode Island Senate last month, permits the state’s residents and businesses to make up to 10 payments in bitcoin valued at less than $1,000 per month (or sell the equivalent amount) without being subject to state capital gains taxes.

The bill is an amendment to existing state income tax laws, and the exact language in the proposed legislation is as follows:

“Any sale of [b]itcoin by an individual or business in Rhode Island shall be exempt from state taxation if the total value of sales is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per diem. The limit of the state tax exempt [b]itcoin transaction shall not exceed ten (10) sales per a thirty (30) day cycle.”

And the bill defines a “sale of [b]itcoin” as “any transaction in which [b]itcoin is sold or exchanged for another form of value, such as fiat currency or other physical or digital assets.”

The bill also clarifies that this exemption only applies at the state level and that it doesn’t affect federal tax obligations.

Under the bill, individuals and businesses who engage with these types of tax-exempt bitcoin transactions are responsible for keeping records of these transactions, including the total value of sales per day, and should be prepared to provide these records to the Rhode Island’s department of revenue for audit or compliance purposes.

In a slide deck prepared by the Rhode Island Blockchain Council that was shared with Bitcoin Magazine, Chris Perrotta, Chairman of the Council, wrote that the passing of Bill S. 0451 would help to reduce friction for digital asset payments.

He stated that “current tax implications of spending BTC hamper its utility for Rhode Island citizens and stifle economic activity.”

Perrotta also noted that the passing of this bill would stimulate blockchain-based economic activity in the state, making Rhode Island one of the states at the forefront of this technology.

What is more, he also proposed that small businesses accept bitcoin for products and services as a means to stimulate economic growth.

Thus far, no other U.S. states have introduced comparable bills.

At the federal level, the only bill that has proposed something similar is the Lummis-Gillibrand “Responsible Financial Innovation Act”, which provides a de minimus tax exemption on bitcoin transactions valued up to $200.