Police find suspect in Rhode Island casino hotel
A Plainfield man was arrested on drug and gun charges in Rhode Island after his girlfriend overdosed on fentanyl in a casino hotel, the Rhode Island State Police said Friday.
Joseph Fortes, 35, of 140 NewRoadin the Moosup section of town, was charged with possession with intent to deliver and manufacture of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a convict in a crime of violence, they said. They also said he violated a state law requiring pistol permits.
According to police, members of the Rhode Island State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit responded with medics to the Twin River Casino Hotel in Lincoln about 2 p.m. Thursday on a report of a woman who had ingested fentanyl.
The woman survived the overdose and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment.
Troopers questioned the woman’s boyfriend, Fortes, who was in the room at the time of her overdose, and learned he had an extensive criminal history including weapons and narcotics violations, police said.
They also found out Fortes was on probation for a 2016 arrest in North Providence for possession of a stolen vehicle/parts; possession of a controlled substance and for violating the law requiring a license or permit when carrying a pistol.
Troopers seized a Kel-Tec 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a plastic bag containing 50 grams, or 1.76 ounces, of a white powdery substance that police said was high-grade fentanyl.
Fortes was held overnight and was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Sixth Division District Court, police said.
Christine Dempsey can be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
While investigating at the scene, responding officers found a broken window and heard movement in the woods, police said.
According to the arrest report, officers searching the wooded area near the VFW found Michael Meriwether, 41, of 65 Ashland Street, lying on the ground with two money bags belonging to the VFW.
Meriwether was subsequently arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, fifth-degree larceny and criminal mischief. He was held on a $7,500 bond and was due in Norwich Superior Court on Wednesday.