Warwick, RI – A Pawtucket man was arrested for assault May 10 at 4:48 p.m. after waving down an officer to say he’d thrown food at a driver who’d nearly hit him in the Chelo’s Waterfront Bar parking lot.
When Officer Nicholas Reay was called to the 1 Masthead Drive location for a report of an assault, he saw a man, later identified as Gabriel Velez, 28, of 413 Central Ave., apt 10209, Pawtucket, waving him over, Reay wrote in his report.
Reay spoke with Velez, who said he’d nearly been hit by a driver while he was walking through the restaurant’s parking lot as the vehicle was pulling in to a parking space, according to the report.
The men exchanged, words, each making use of an expletive beginning with the letter “f”, Velez told the officer. Velez then told Reay that he ended the encounter by throwing his container of food at the other man.
The driver told Reay that Velez and a woman had walked alongside his car as he was attempting to park, forcing him to stop to avoid hitting the pair. The driver said that he told them walking that close to his car was stupid and dangerous, because there was so little room for them to walk.
The driver said Velez asked ” ‘What did you just say to me?’ ” and when the driver repeated himself, Velez threw the food container at him through his rolled down window.
Reay noted in the report that some of the food had gotten on the driver’s sleeve.
The officer arrested Velez, charging him with simple assault, and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive. He was later released with a summons to answer the charge in Third District Court on May 25.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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