RI State Police Raid Twin River UPDATED
Saturday, June 15, 2019
The Rhode Island State Police with subpoenas in hand raided Twin River Casino in Lincoln on Friday, according to law enforcement sources.
The Rhode Island State Police, working with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, executed state court-ordered search warrants at Twin River.
The execution of these warrants is part of an active and ongoing criminal investigation and no other information will be provided at this time said the Attorney General's office.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe casino has been the site of a number of crimes over the past year plus.
Twin River's spokeswoman Patti Doyle, said in a statement, "We are cooperating fully with the RI State Police on this matter. We believe the focus is on activities of one of our tenants.
A number of law enforcement officials tell GoLocal that this investigation has been in development for a significant period of time.
In May GoLocal reported:
A Connecticut man was arrested by the Rhode Island State Police on weapons and narcotics charges at Twin River Hotel in Lincoln while responding to a reported drug overdose on Thursday.
Joseph Fortes, 35, was arrested and charged with license or permit required for carrying a pistol, possession with intent to deliver and manufacture a controlled substance - schedule I/II (fentanyl), and possession of firearm by convict in a crime of violence.
Fortes was held overnight at the Adult Correctional Institutions, pending arraignment on Friday in Sixth Division District Court.
He also will be presented to the courts as a violator of the terms of his probation from the following charges from North Providence Police in 2016: possession of stolen vehicle/parts; possession of a controlled substance - schedule I-V; and license or permit required for carrying a pistol.
According to RI State Police, members of the Rhode Island State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit assigned to the Twin River Casino responded to the hotel at approximately 2 p.m. to assist rescue workers with a drug overdose.
EMTs from Lincoln Rescue confirmed that a woman had overdosed after ingesting an unknown quantity of fentanyl. She survived the overdose and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital.
Troopers questioned the woman’s boyfriend, identified as Fortes, age 35, of 140 New Road, Moosup, CT, who was in the hotel room at the time.
Troopers learned that Fortes had an extensive criminal history that included weapons and narcotics violations.
They also learned that Fortes was currently on probation from a previous conviction.
According to State Police, troopers seized a Kel Tec 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a plastic bag containing 50 grams of a white powdery substance suspected to be high-grade fentanyl.
In January of 2018, GoLocal reported:
A Twin River Casino employee has been arrested by the Rhode Island State Police for narcotics-related charges.
James McKeown, 29, of Warren, was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession and delivery of a controlled substance-Schedule I-Marijuana.
McKeown was arraigned in Third Division District Court before Judge Mary McCaffery and released on $20,000 surety bail.
McKeown serves as the Table Games Supervisor at Twin River and was arrested on January 9 as a result of an investigation by members of the Gaming Enforcement Unit.
Other Arrests at Twin River
This arrest comes just a couple of weeks after four other Twin River employees were also arrested on drug charges.
On December 1, 2017, table games dealer Connor Evans was arrested on one count of possession and delivery of a controlled substance.
A few days later on December 6, 2017, State Police arrested Elizabeth Sankey and Megan Menard, both food and beverage servers, for possession of a controlled substance.
Previously, food and beverage server Kyle Dorez was arrested on November 4, 2017, on two counts of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession and delivery of a controlled substance.
Updated at 1:39 PM
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