Warwick Man Charged With Carrying Shotgun While Intoxicated Dec. 5

WARWICK, RI — A Warwick man appeared in Third District Court Monday answering a charge of carrying a shotgun while under the influence of liquor/or drugs Dec. 5.

At 4:38 p.m. that day, Officer Conor Bemis was called to a Warwick home for a report of a domestic disturbance. Dispatch informed him a woman had called the department distraught about an argument with her boyfriend, Brian, in the home earlier that day. Bemis and WPD Det. Oliver Pinhiero arrived at the home and spoke with the woman, establishing that Brian was still inside the house, according to Bemi’s report.

Bemis approached the front door and knocked, to which Brian asked, “Who is it?”

Bemis answered that it was the police, and when Brian asked what he wanted, he told the man he wanted to talk, and that he was not in trouble. Brian did not open the door. Bemis peered inside the front window of the house and saw a man carrying a shotgun, pointed down, headed toward the side door. Bemis called to him to put the weapon down, and advised dispatch of the weapon. He retreated to the next door house behind cover, and Pinhiero and the woman did the same, according to the report.

As Bemis watched the house, Brian exited without the shotgun, his hands raised. Bemis ordered him to continue to walk forward with his hands raised but he ignored the order, and the officers approached him, Bemis with his sidearm at the “high ready” position and Pinhiero with his taser, and detained the man on the front steps. He was later identified as Brian Jackowitz, 51 of 88 Oniska St., Warwick.

The officers made a sweep of the home, finding the loaded pump-action Mossberg shotgun, with a round in the chamber, and 13 rounds stored on the firearm. Officers also found a second Mossberg shotgun.

Jackowitz told the officers he had been asleep and heard a loud bang, then grabbed the shotgun to check the house. He denied hearing the officers or speaking with them. As he spoke with Bemis, the officer said he noted a strong odor of alcohol on the man’s breath. Jackowitz asked for a breath test of his blood alcohol level, registering a .172 on the test.

At Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, Bemis charged him with one count of carrying a weapon while under the influence of liquor/or drugs. A check of his criminal history showed him to have previously been charged in 2000 in California for possession of a controlled substance for sale.

Jackowitz was arraigned in Third Division District Court Dec. 6 and scheduled for a Jan. 27 court screening. He was released on $1,000 personal recognizance and ordered to submit to pretrial alcohol monitoring pending the Jan. 27 hearing.