Warwick, RI – Warwick Police officers at the Warwick Mall  alerted to a man shooting heroin in the food court lot May 15  found him passed out surrounded by and attached to intravenous drug accessories, ultimately arresting him on two counts of narcotics possession.
Lt. Joseph Hopkins said in his report that he and his detail partner, Sgt. Robert Chille, were approached by a father at about 9 p.m. who said he’d seen a man parked next to him in the food court injecting heroin between his fingers.
The father said the drug use had happened in plain view of his daughter.
The officers approached the car singled out by the father, a black Scion, finding the driver slumped at the wheel. In plain view, the officers saw two discarded needles and a lighter on the dashboard, remnants of a blue baggie typically used to carry the substance, a burnt spoon with tan residue, a cotton ball wedged in the dash and a cloth belt wrapped around the man’s arm.
The officers woke the man, later identified as Robert Rotondo, 22, of 49 Kristee Circle, West Warwick, patted him down and asked if he’d been injecting heroin. Rotondo said he had been.
Inside the car, the officers also found 1 gram of heroin and, on Rotondo’s person, a single pill later determined to be Alprazolam, a controlled substance.
The officers arrested Rotondo, transporting him to Warwick Police Headquarters at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where the suspected heroin and suspected Alprazolam were confirmed.
Hopkins charged Rotondo with possession of heroin and possession of Alprazolam, both felonies.
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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