City man arrested for allegedly throwing dog from a moving car, assaulting woman
WOONSOCKET — In a fit of jealousy, a city man allegedly lashed out at his girlfriend’s dog, throwing the small animal from a moving vehicle before attacking her Saturday morning.
Joseph T. Fernandes, 56, of 20 Rebekah St., is facing charges of unnecessary cruelty to animals; domestic assault and battery; and domestic refusal to relinquish a telephone.
It’s unclear whether the pet in question has been accounted for. The victim told police she searched for the dog – possibly a Yorkshire terrier – shortly after Fernandes allegedly tossed it from the window of his 2002 Sedona, and she couldn’t find it.
The woman went to police headquarters to report the incident about 5 a.m. Saturday. She and Fernandes were driving back from a restaurant at Oakland Beach in Warwick when they began arguing about her interaction with another patron, she told Patrol Officer Austin Archambault.
Fernandes, Archambault reported, accused her of flirting with the other man and dressing in “a provocative manner.” As the couple approached “the Avenues” of the Fairmount neighborhood, Fernandes allegedly became so angry that he grabbed onto his girlfriend’s small dog and “threw it out of the moving vehicle,” the officer reported. The woman believed Fernandes’ actions were “retaliation for her speaking with the male at the restaurant.”
When she admonished Fernandes for hurling her dog from the car, he allegedly began punching her in the face and forcefully pulling her by the arm. Archambault said the woman tried to reach for her cell phone to call the police, but he allegedly grabbed it from her hands and threw that from the moving vehicle as well.
After Fernandes brought her home – she lives on Bourdon Boulevard – the woman jumped into her own car and went to look for the dog. Unable to locate it, she drove to the police station and reported the incident.
Police said the woman arrived at the station with swollen bruises on her face and red marks on her arms, but she declined medical attention.
A warrant was issued for Fernandes, who was arrested about 10:35 a.m. Sunday when the blue Sedona caught the attention of a policeman working a stationary traffic detail on Park Avenue. The officer’s initial concern was “extensive damage” on the front end of the vehicle.
But Officer Michael S. Martinsen ran a background check on the registered owner of the vehicle and discovered Fernandes was wanted on warrants for the dog-throwing incident and the related domestic offenses from the previous day.
Martinsen said Fernandes had a small dog in the car with him at the time of the arrest – but it’s unknown whether it’s the same dog he allegedly threw from the vehicle on Saturday. While Fernandes was booked at headquarters, the dog was transferred to the custody of the animal control officer.
After Fernandes was released from his holding cell at headquarters, he showed up at the municipal animal shelter looking for the dog, which was released to him, according to Assistant Animal Control Officer Tiffany Marie Forrest.
When Fernandes picked up the dog, Forrest said, he told her the animal he retrieved from the Cumberland Hill Road shelter and the one he allegedly threw from his car were two different animals. Forrest said Fernandes told her the dog he’s accused of throwing from the vehicle was a Yorky. He also claimed the allegations made against him were false.
She said the dog Fernandes picked up showed no sign of injury.
Police released Fernandes on $1,000 personal recognizance at 7:50 p.m. Sunday. He’s is scheduled to be arraigned in Sixth District Court on Thursday, according to the judiciary’s web site.