2019 in Review: Warwick’s Most Wanted

WARWICK, RI — Among the thousands of arrests and crime reports handled by the Warwick Police Department, there are always a number of them that aren’t open-and-shut cases.

And when police need the public’s help in gathering more information or identifying suspects, they turn to the Rhode Island Most Wanted website.

Here are Warwick’s “Most Wanted” cases that made headlines in 2019:

Sentenced: Purse thief gets probation, suspended sentence

The woman sought by Warwick Police for stealing money from an elderly woman’s purse at a local Dunkin Donuts on Sept. 18 was given a suspended sentence and probation in the case.

Alaina Chase, 26, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of larceny on Oct. 7 before Third Division District Court Judge Melissa DuBose, who sentenced Chase to one year’s probation and a one-year suspended sentence, and ordered her to pay $99 in restitution.

According to a WPD Facebook post, surveillance cameras at the Dunkin at Meadowbrook Plaza recorded a woman removing $99 in cash from the purse belonging to an 82-year-old woman on Sept. 18 at about 3:15 p.m.

Police later identified the woman as Chase, who was awaiting trial on a felony charge of car theft brought by Warwick Police in July. Because her later arrest violated terms of her release in the July case, a violation charge was filed on Oct. 7. Prosecutors later withdrew the charge.

Identified: Suspect in Garden City shoplifting cases held without bail

A Warwick man remains held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions, Cranston, following his arrest for two shoplifting cases.

Kevin Wulff, 46, was the subject of a Rhode Island Most Wanted website report in January after surveillance cameras recorded him stealing clothing items on two occasions, according to Cranston Police.  He is next due in court on Aug. 30 in that case.

On June 6, Providence/Bristol County Superior Court Associate Justice Maureen B. Keough ordered Wulff held without bail for violating terms of probation set in a 2018 case brought by East Providence Police on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle and engaging in a high speed pursuit from police, according to online state court records.

Wulff faces pending charges in at least another dozen cases, including one brought by Warwick Police for a felony charge of shoplifting that occurred in February.

Identified: Suspect in Nov. 3 hit-and-run faces traffic court charges

A Providence man faces multiple traffic citations after Warwick Police identified him as the main suspect in a hit-and-run on Nov. 3.

According to a WPD Facebook post, Josue Baldayac, 28, was driving a silver Acura at about 2 p.m. when it side-swiped another car at the intersection of East Avenue and Tillinghast Avenue.

The collision dislodged the front bumper of the Acura, and the department later posted videos showing two men pulling the bumper off the car and placing it in the backseat before leaving the scene.

Warwick Police filed citations for leaving the lane of travel; failing to report an accident; and failure to have proof of insurance with the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal on Nov. 17. Baldayac is required to report to the traffic court by Dec. 13.

At large: Duo sought in credit card theft

Warwick Police are seeking information on two men suspected of stealing a credit card and using it at two local stores.

In a Facebook message Nov. 4, the WPD posted surveillance photos from the Burlington Coat Factory at 650 Bald Hill Road (Rhode Island Mall) showing two black men walking into the store at about 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 17.

Police said the victim reported that his wallet had been taken from a locker at the Planet Fitness located in the mall at about 4 p.m.

The two men used the victim’s credit card at the Burlington store and the nearby Walmart, according to police.

If you have information on this case, contact Det. Christian Vargas at (401) 468-4260 or [email protected] and reference case number 19-5954-OF.

At large: Suspects sought in two shoplifting cases

Warwick Police published two Facebook posts within a week in August seeking information on two separate shoplifting cases.

On Aug. 14, under the title “Just Did It,” the department posted photos of a woman taken from surveillance video at the JC Penney store at Warwick Mall, reporting that she is suspected of stealing $1,600 in Nike brand merchandise on Aug. 5.

(The title of the post is a parody of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign slogan, a sign for which is also shown in the surveillance photo.)

Police describe the woman as being 30 between and 40 years old with blonde/brown hair and a large right forearm tattoo. If arrested, she could face felony shoplifting charges due to the value of the merchandise.

If you have information on this case, contact Det. Adam Arico at [email protected] or (401) 468-4267.

Local police are also seeking information on three people suspected of stealing nearly $1,900 in merchandise from the CVS Pharmacy on Warwick Avenue on Aug. 10 at about 2:45 a.m.

According to a Facebook post published on Aug. 16, video surveillance records one of the two women as she “distracts the supervisor at the coupon center” while the other woman and a man “walk the beauty aisles and fill their bags with a variety of items,” including razors, deodorant, and soap.

Video surveillance then shows the trio walking out of the store with bags full of products.

If you have information on this case, contact Det. John Zaborski at [email protected] or (401) 468-4248.