A Charlestown man is suing Jamestown police. Why he says he was wrongfully charged.
A man arrested in April on marijuana-related charges that were later dismissed is seeking compensation from the Jamestown Police Department for allegedly violating his rights under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act.
On April 13, Gerald Doyle, a 40-year-old man from Charlestown, was arrested by a Jamestown police officer for allegedly giving two women over the age of 21 small bags of marijuana totaling 1.6 grams a day prior at the Cumberland Farms where the two women work, according to a Notice of Claim filed by Attorney Thomas Connolly, who represents Doyle, on July 3.
Doyle was charged with Distribution or Manufacturing in or Near Schools - 1st Offense, a felony offense punishable with up to life imprisonment, but his case was dismissed by the Office of the Attorney General under “No Information Signed,” meaning the office found there was not enough evidence to bring the matter to court, on May 12.
Transferring up to one ounce of cannabis to someone over the age of 21 without remuneration is legal in Rhode Island. In his letter, Connolly claims Jamestown Police Detective Derek Carlino, who arrested Doyle, misrepresented under oath that there was a probability Doyle violated the Delivery Statute and the School Zone sentencing enhancement statute under the RI General Laws’ Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Connolly states in his letter that the Delivery Statute Carlino cited in obtaining the arrest warrant specifically exempts marijuana and was not included in the felony complaint Carlino filed on April 28. Connolly claims Carlino’s omission of the Delivery Statute from the felony complaint shows Carlino knew marijuana was exempt from that statute by April 28 and yet continued to charge Doyle that same day under the School Zone sentencing enhancement statute during the arraignment. Therefore, Connolly claims, the Jamestown Police Department, through Carlino, committed perjury in order to obtain the arrest warrant.
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Additionally, Connolly’s letter claims the charged offense, the School Zone statute, being a sentencing enhancement statute without a predicate offense charge, had no basis under law and “lacked probable cause entirely.”
Connolly’s letter said his client “has been and continues to be injured by the wrongful prosecution made against him,” and seeks compensatory damages equal to or greater than the statutory limit of $100,000.
The Jamestown Police Department responded to requests for comment by relaying its side of the story in a press release. Interim Chief Angela Deneault said in the release the department was advised by the Attorney General's office prior to obtaining the arrest warrant that the department should charge Doyle with both charges identified in Connolly's letter. Later, the office reviewed the case and advised the department to charge Doyle solely with distribution of a controlled substance and distribution in a school zone, rather than both of the charges. The department provided no comment regarding the lawsuit itself.
"Prior to the Jamestown Police Department executing the arrest warrant, the RI Department of Attorney General requested more time to review the case prior to any arrest. On April 25, 2023 the RI Department of Attorney General advised the Jamestown Police Department to proceed with charging the subject with the sole count of distribution of a controlled substance within a school zone. The subject turned himself in to Second Division District Court on April 28, 2023, was arraigned, and subsequently released on personal recognizance.
"On May 12, 2023 the RI Department of Attorney General signed a “no information,” meaning the case would not be prosecuted," the release states.
Editor's note: The amount of marijuana in the small bags was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Jamestown police sued for arresting man on school-zone pot distribution
