Newport Man Charged With Felony Pot Distribution

Unless otherwise noted, information about the following incidents was supplied by the South Kingstown Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

Steven C. Robinson, 24, of 43 Evans St., Newport, was arrested at about 2:35 p.m. on Aug. 4 and charged with felony drug distribution.

According to police, an officer monitoring traffic on Tri Pond Court near Dam Street and Kingstown Road saw a gray Jetta drive through the stop sign at Kingstown without stopping. A traffic stop was made on Kingstown Road near Kersey Road.

Police said that the driver – Mason E. Wilson, 24, of 65 Ralph St., Providence – and a passenger – Robinson – smelled strongly of marijuana and were slow to answer questions. When the officer went back to his car to run a background check, police said that Robinson left the car and tried to run away.

According to police, the officer ran after Robinson and was able to arrest him after a brief struggle on the bike path. Police said that during the arrest, Robinson threw a backpack at two men and told them to “grab that bag and run, grab that **** and run!” Police also noted that the officer punched Robinson in the face to subdue him, and to defend himself.

Police said that while the officer was arresting Robinson, Wilson drove away from the traffic stop. However, another officer stopped his car on Kersey Road near Liberty Rental, and he was taken into custody for a Sixth Division District Court warrant.

According to police, a search of Robinson’s backpack revealed 15 one-gram baggies of marijuana, one baggie with 43.5 grams and about 100 empty baggies. A damaged Apple iPad and its charger were also recovered.

Police said that during processing, Robinson told them, “I don’t even sell that much weed” and “It was mostly all for personal use.” He was charged with felony drug distribution and resisting arrest.

Because Robinson was on probation for a previous felony arrest in 2008, he was held without bail. He is scheduled for felony screening on Sept. 11. He has several pleas to past felony charges:

• In November 2008, Robinson pleaded no contest to North Kingstown police charges of felony and simple assault. He was originally sentenced to five years probation and a five-year suspended sentence, but because of subsequent arrests, he has served a year at the ACI in three separate stints.
• In January 2009, Robinson pleaded no contest to a Middletown police charge of obtaining money under false pretenses. He was ordered to serve a year of probation and a year-long suspended sentence, but eventually served six months at the ACI because of subsequent arrests.

Police searched Wilson’s car for narcotics with a K-9 unit, and the unit indicated drug reside in the windshield washer container. However, there wasn’t enough to field test, and police believed the drugs were either stashed somewhere else or handed off while the officer arrested Robinson.

Unless otherwise noted, the information for this article was compiled from South Kingstown police reports, which are available for review by any member of the public at their . If we’re missing a call or report you’re interested in knowing about, feel free to leave a comment or to send Local Editor Stephen Greenwell a message at Stephen.greenwell@patch.com.

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