Officer Stops, Arrests Driver on Elmwood for Dealing Marijuana

WARWICK, RI — Officer Ali Jaafar was in the middle of a traffic stop on Elmwood Avenue near the Warwick/Cranston city line June 28 at 5:35 p.m. when a blue 2007 BMW sedan with no front plate and tinted windows passed, driven by a Providence man he arrested and charged with dealing marijuana.

Jaafar ended his traffic stop and followed the BMW, immediately signaling for it to pull over using his lights and horn, but while the driver pulled over, he continued on the side of the road for about 100 ft., according to the officer’s report. During this time, Jaafar suspected the driver was attempting to hide items in his car, he reported.

Jaafar noted the back license plate was a Rhode Island plate, but it was not registered to the vehicle. As he approached the car, the officer also saw that all the windows had an after-market tint applied to them.

The officer identified the man as Milvio Ramirez, 23, of 196 Sterling Ave., Providence. While reviewing his registration and license, Jaafar noticed a bag of marijuana sticking out of the car’s center console, and asked Ramirez if he had a medical marijuana card. Ramirez took a long moment to answer, saying that he did have one but was waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Ramirez also did not have a title for the car, though he claimed to have just bought it.

Jaafar called another officer for assistance, and asked Ramirez to step from the car, which he was going to order towed due to its lack of registration. Jaafar searched the driver, finding a large roll of cash in the front cargo pocket of his jeans. The officer also found a bag of marijuana in the driver’s front pocket, and placed him, uncuffed, in the rear of his cruiser.

Jaafar searched the car, locating an empty juice bottle which had a large plastic bag and a number of smaller plastic bags stuffed into it, all empty, and all with marijuana residue in them. He also found three bags of marijuana, a box of sandwich bags, and a scale, according to the officer’s report.

While searching the car, Jaafar noted Ramirez’s phone rang constantly, displaying the numbers of the callers, including one person identified on the phone as “Fair Price,” all of whom Jaafar suspected were the driver’s customers.

Jaafar arrested Ramirez, and seized the driver’s cash, marijuana and packaging materials, transporting him to Warwick Police Headquarters, where he was charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

The seized cash was counted at $1,547, and placed in property, along with a counterfeit $100 bill found among the currency. The BMW was towed to police headquarters and locked in the lot there.

Throughout the booking process, Ramirez repeated the drugs were, “Just weed, just weed, I always get let go for weed,” according to the report.