Johnston Police Log

The Police Log is a digest of reports provided by the Johnston Police, Rhode Island State Police and other departments.

IDENTITY FRAUD

Patrolwoman Kayleigh Cooper wrote on the afternoon of Nov. 21 that Rhode Island State Police transferred custody of Keila Fiorentino, 36, 43 Trenton St., Providence, over to Johnston Police.

Fiorentino was wanted out of JPD on charges of identity fraud and two counts of obtaining money under false pretenses and impersonation over $1,500, all of which are felonies. She was arraigned and released on $2,000 personal recognizance with a pre-arraignment conference date of Feb. 24, 2021.

Fiorentino’s arrest stemmed from an alleged incident that occurred the afternoon of Sept. 5, 2017. Patrolman Adam Parkinson wrote that the victims responded to Johnston Police headquarters in reference to a fraud complaint.

One of the parties advised that on Aug. 28 of that year, she noticed a Craigslist advertisement for a first-floor apartment. She said she contacted the number provided and viewed the apartment the following day, at which time she met with Fiorentino, who is said to have shown the place and claimed to be the property owner/landlord. The party completed a rental agreement to lease the property for the agreed upon price, and first and last month’s rent were required in advance. The reporting party purchased a cashier’s check and made it out to Fiorentino.

Parkinson said the apartment was not “move-in ready,” so Fiorentino advised that the alleged victim could do the repair work and deduct it from the costs of the following month’s rent. She did so and had an alarm installed, for which Fiorentino signed paperwork posing as the landlord.

Parkinson said the woman later became suspicious, researching the tax history of the property and discovering it belonged to someone else whose name was redacted from the report. She later spoke to someone else who advised that Fiorentino was only a first-floor tenant and to contact police.

Parkinson said the other reporting party had a similar story, including Fiorentino showing her an apartment claiming to be the property owner/landlord and agreeing to pay first and last month’s rent up front. The woman said Fiorentino had a notarized letter saying she was the landlord but a visit to Town Hall showed she was not listed as such.

Parkinson said Fiorentino moved out of the residence the week before the reporting parties came to JPD, allegedly to Florida, and provided a bank routing number so that one of the alleged victims could deposit monthly rent into her account.

ASSAULT

Patrolman Anthony St. Laurent responded to Scrambler’s Restaurant at 2 Greenville Ave. on the morning of Nov. 21 for a report of a motor vehicle accident with two women seen fleeing the scene. It was later determined that no collision occurred.

Upon arrival, St. Laurent saw two women running from the Scrambler’s parking lot. One of the women was identified as Bianca Cruz, 27, 40 Perkins Ave., Cranston. Upon speaking with the women, the other – whose name has been redacted – was cooperative and said she was getting a ride home from Cruz. St. Laurent said that Cruz, however, screamed vulgarities at him and threatened to spit on him.

During this engagement, St. Laurent said he was approached by a man who said he was traveling eastbound on Traver Avenue when he saw Cruz’s vehicle coming up the one-way road the wrong direction. He said he stopped to avoid a head-on collision. He said the vehicle stopped adjacent to him, at which a verbal altercation ensued and Cruz threw a Wendy’s soda at him through the driver’s side window. The man also said Cruz called him a racial slur.

Patrolman Adam Parkinson spoke to the reporting party, who said he started recording the interaction on one phone while contacting 911 on the other. Parkinson viewed the video corroborating his account while on scene, but the video file was too large to send after the fact.

St. Laurent and two other officers approached Cruz, at which time she is said to have become disorderly and recklessly engaged in violent behavior toward law enforcement officials on the scene. After several attempts to calm Cruz down, St. Laurent said, she turned her attention toward the man and started to swear at him. St. Laurent attempted to place Cruz in handcuffs, but she began resist by using her legs to kick the officers. Once she was cuffed and on her way to the cruiser, St. Laurent said Cruz kicked him in the left knee with full intention of injuring him and spit several time in his face before cursing at him again.

Cruz was charged with three counts of simple assault, one count of resisting legal arrest and one count of disorderly conduct. She was released with a Third Division District Court summons to appear on March 8, 2021.