Woonsocket police suspected there were guns at the camp they brought Governor McKee to

It is unknown if the Governor or any members of his staff were made aware of the potential danger...

Woonsocket City Council

Last Friday Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt invited three members of the Woonsocket City Council, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee, Secretary of Housing Stefan Pryor, and several other officials and staff members to “tour” encampments of unhoused people in her city. Around 15 officials and staffers were on the tour, with at least 10 members of the Woonsocket Police Department, ostensibly present to guide and protect them.

To the surprise of those on the “tour,” two arrests were made. Two men were charged with a litany of crimes, including gun possession charges.

---

Previous reporting:

• Woonsocket Mayor leads encampment raid with Governor McKee in tow

• Exclusive: Woonsocket City Council President talks about the encampment visit and the arrests made

• Exclusive: CCA President on Woonsocket Mayor's encampment raid

---

Those who have spoken publicly about the event say that they participated in the “tour” to learn more about the issue of unhoused people living in encampments. “It was merely for my own edification and fact-finding,” said Woonsocket City Council President Christopher Beauchamp. “What are we doing? Who's here?”

“Our intention was never to cause harm,” echoed City Councilmember Brian Thompson at Monday evening’s city council meeting, explaining his involvement. “We embarked on this tour to gain a deeper understanding of what drives individuals into these encampments.”

Speaking on background, a staffer for the Governor told me that the Governor went on the tour to see the conditions of the unhoused in his state.

But the Woonsocket Police Department arrest report, secured by Pat Ford at Coalition Radio and shared with me, provides details on last Friday’s encampment “tour” that fly in the face of this being an altruistic attempt at understanding.

One wonders if the Governor, City Councilmembers, and other unnamed elected officials and staff members would have agreed to accompany Mayor Baldelli-Hunt if they were aware that Woonsocket Police had reason to believe that there were loaded weapons at the site where the arrests were ultimately made, a week before the tour happened.

“We didn't go in there rustling people, kicking 'em out of their tents or anything like that,” said Council President Beauchamp to me on Monday. “There was nothing gung-ho about it.”

Councilmember Thompson called the arrests an “unfortunate incident” and seemed surprised by the presence of guns at the encampment. “I want to emphasize that witnessing such activities was never our intent.”

The gubernatorial staffer who spoke to me on background said they were also surprised by the arrests.

In his arrest report, Woonsocket Police Department Patrol Officer Robert Frye writes, that in the week before Mayor Baldelli-Hunt’s tour, “…Detectives had obtained information that Junior had two firearms, one being a semi-automatic and another being a revolver and he was seeking retaliation due to a previous unknown event.” Junior Martinez is one of the two men arrested at the encampment.

Police knew that Junior Martinez lived in the encampment they were visiting and knew, or strongly suspected, that he had guns. “I observed Junior Martinez sitting in his area over in the rear of the camp,” wrote Officer Frye. “Junior sells bikes underneath the bridge.” [Emphasis mine]

All the reports I’ve collected from those who were on the encampment “tour” stressed that people in the encampments were approached openly and straightforwardly. But the police report has a different take.

“Lieutenant Doura and I led the group down the path to get to the site which usually has make-shift security notifications for the residents of the site,” wrote Officer Frye. “During a recent visit, I located a trip wire with soda cans attached, if you were not to notice the wire you would hit the wire and rattle the cans notifying [the encampment of] your presence.”

With Frye and Doura leading the way and avoiding alarms, the camp was presumably slower to be alerted to the presence of the tour.

Both the staffer speaking on background and Council President Beauchamp assured me that no one was compelled to interact with members of the tour group. “I don't think it was an invasion of privacy because we didn't wake 'em up,” said Council President Beauchamp. “If they awoke because they saw us and they came out of their tents and they wanted to talk to us, they did. We didn't force 'em to, we didn't demand that they did.”

Perhaps the Council President didn’t demand that people in the encampments interact with him, but Officer Frye did.

“I informed [Junior Martinez] to head over to speak with the Officials on the scene,” wrote Officer Frye, later saying of the other suspect arrested that day, “I also informed Richard [Bittner] to walk over to the Officials and speak with them. Richard was very uneasy. He appeared to be panicked and trying to understand the basic situation that I just explained to him. Eventually, he walked over to the area where the group was meeting.”

The two men now separated from their tents, Officer Frye was free to “discover” the guns and the drugs he had been informed by the Detectives a week earlier were likely present.

When I speak to people involved with this event, to a person they call it a “tour” and describe their participation as coming from a place of compassionate inquiry and a concern for the wellbeing of the public. And for those I spoke to or heard from, that may well be the case, however out of line with best practices their actions were.

But Mayor Baldelli-Hunt and the members of the Woonsocket Police Department were well aware of the potential presence of guns at the encampment. It is unknown if the Governor or any members of his staff were made aware of the potential danger. There is some evidence that the police had herded the civilians away from where the arrests took place. One person told me that the arrests took place some distance away while they were speaking to someone outside a tent.

Evidence points to this “tour” being a not-so-clever raid, set up to surprise the Governor with evidence of drugs and weapons and spur him into allowing Woonsocket to take a harder line in dealing with the growing population of unhoused people in the City of Woonsocket. Councilmember Thompson cited the presence of guns and drugs so close to a Junior High School as evidence that children are not safe. The presence of guns at the site is being used as an excuse to begin the discussion of evicting encampments throughout Woonsocket.

The problem is that there is nowhere for people to go.

“…if they're on state land, city land, or private land, they shouldn't be there,” said City Council President Beauchamp to me, to which I asked, “Where would they go? Because you just mentioned everywhere.”

---

Here’s the arrest report written by Woonsocket Police Department Patrol Officer Robert Frye. I’ve cleaned up some of the spelling and grammar:

On Friday, September 29th, 2023 at approximately 3:45 pm I was assigned to escort State and City Officials around several homeless camps within the City of Woonsocket. The Officials wanted to meet with the Homeless residing in these campsites and obtain an unfiltered view of the Homeless situation in the City.

We responded under the Hamlet Bridge on the Cumberland St side which is the largest homeless site in the city. There are approximately 10 tens with many homeless living on the site. The site is approximately 500 feet from the Hamlet Middle School and is a regular location for Police to respond to for Overdoses. Lt. Doura and I led the group down the path to get to the site which usually has make-shift security notifications for the residents of the site. During a recent visit, I located a trip wire with soda cans attached, if you were not to notice the wire you would hit the wire and rattle the cans notifying your presence.

As we approached the camp I observed several individuals loitering about. As I was in the site I observed Junior Martinez sitting in his area over in the rear of the camp. Junior sells bikes underneath the bridge. He has about 30 bicycles lined up against the back wall that he sells. He has tools and other items to repair them in the camp. Junior took notice of the Police presence and exited the back area, which is set up in a boundary to block it off, separate from the rest of the camp.

As I approached he quickly stepped from the area and asked what was going on, I informed him to head over to speak with the Officials on the scene. I observed the fenced-in area that Junior was coming from. There were two separate tents connected to the area along with some chairs and tables. While coming into the area I located another male exiting one of the tents in the area along the back wall. I recognized the subject as Richard Bitter. I know Richard to be a regular narcotics user.

I also informed Richard to walk over to the Officials and speak with them. Richard was very uneasy. He appeared to be panicked and trying to understand the basic situation that I just explained to him. Eventually, he walked over to the area where the group was meeting. I walked into the area to see if any other individuals were around. In plain view, I observed a large mason jar with several corner-cut baggies, all containing a white rock-like substance I suspected to be crack cocaine, on a table. Around the area were several packages of sandwich baggies, glassine baggies regularly used to package narcotics, digital scales with white rock-like residue on them which are used to measure and divide the drugs, and a blue cutting board with more crack residue.

In the middle of that table was a larger mason jar filled with gabapentin, a prescription drug that is not a Scheduled drug, but is regularly abused by addicts. I also located a large bag of a white powdery substance that I suspected to be narcotics cut, something that is utilized to mix with a drug dealer's narcotics to spread out their product for more profit on their behalf.

With the narcotics and paraphernalia being so obviously out in the open, in plain view, and both Junior and Richard being in the immediate area, I advised Lieutenant Doura I would be placing both [men] into custody. I placed Richard into custody with the assistance of Detective Zinni and conducted a search, incident to arrest. I located several pocket knives and an additional baggie of crack cocaine on Richard. Lieutenant Dour placed Junior under arrest and both were transported by Day shift Patrol Officers, where more narcotics were located on them during the booking process.

Refer to Officer Young's narrative for further.

Captain Remick remained with the mason jar of crack cocaine during the arrest process and responded back to seize the narcotics. While checking around the immediate area where the narcotics were located I looked over to the tent that Richard had exited from. By the base of the tent were two cross-body satchels which are commonly used to carry weapons during narcotic deals. The prior week Detectives had obtained information that Junior was in possession of two firearms, one being a semi-automatic and another being a revolver and he was seeking retaliation due to a previous unknown event. The first bag was open, unzipped. I grabbed it and immediately felt the weight and pistol grip of a handgun. I opened the bag further and discovered a loaded, green 9mm Ghost Gun (no traceable serial numbers) with a gun light mounted to the rails. I rendered the firearm safe and discovered the magazine, a Glock 9mm magazine had the capacity to carry 15 rounds.

I then grabbed the second cross-body satchel and again felt the weight of a firearm, I opened the bag and located a loaded Colt 38 special revolver. There were five rounds in the firearm. Also inside that bag were several knives and a large sum of cash in various bills stuffed into the bag. Both firearms were seized along with the narcotics and K-9 Officer Mowry and his partner Maverick responded to further check the scene. No other firearms were located.

All parties cleared from the campsite and I transported the narcotics and firearms to the station. I requested Dispatch conduct NCIC checks on the revolver which came back negative for any stolen warrants. We were unable to run the Ghost Gun as there were no serial numbers. The Ghost gun had a 15-round magazine but only 12 9mm rounds were loaded at that time, plus the one that I removed

from the chamber. The Ghost gun was photographed and logged as evidence 23-2212-PR, the Colt revolver was logged as evidence 23-2211-PR. Both were secured in temporary locker #13.

I then tested the mason jar of Crack Cocaine I located, in the presence of Officer Young. I utilized a Nark I test kit which resulted in the presence of Cocaine, there were 13 individually

packaged baggies of crack located. The Cocaine was weighed 4.8 grams and logged as evidence 23-2213-PR in the department drug bin. The small baggie of cocaine I located on Richard was logged in the drug bin as well 23-2214-PR. Officer Young advised me during the booking process that for both Richard and Junior he located more narcotics.

Refer to his narrative for further.

Junior had $500 dollars in cash which was seized, I also seized his two cell phones. Inside the cross-body satchel that contained the revolver, I located 334 dollars in cash which I also seized. Both Junior and Richard had previous narcotics possession charges.

Ultimately, based on my investigation I have probable cause to charge both Junior and Richard with the following crimes:

Junior Martinez

• Manuf/Del/Pos W/ Intent to Del A Sch Control Substance

• Possession of a Schedule II

• Conspiracy

• License or Permit to Carry Concealed Pistol or Revolver (Ghost Gun)

• License or Permit to Carry Concealed Pistol or Revolver

• Large Capacity Feeding Devices Prohibited

• Possession of a Firearm while Delivering or Manufacturing

• Possession of a Firearm person convicted crime of Violence

Richard Bittner

• Manuf/Del/Pos W/ Intent to Del A Sch Control Substance

• Possession of a Schedule II

• Conspiracy

• License or Permit to Carry Concealed Pistol or Revolver (Ghost Gun)

• License or Permit to Carry Concealed Pistol or Revolver

• Large Capacity Feeding Devices Prohibited

• Possession of a Firearm while Delivering or Manufacturing

---

Note: The above is a paid advertisement. Every penny made is poured back into my reporting. Let me know your thoughts about such advertisements in the comments!