Opinion ID: 2823194
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Testimony of Officer Diego Mello

Text: Officer Diego Mello of the East Providence Police Department also testified for the state. He testified that, on the day of defendant’s arrest, he was working as the Vice Unit sergeant in the North Main Street area of Providence and that he responded to a BOLO14 concerning a “blue Kia minivan” that had been reported as having been carjacked by “two Hispanic males with guns.” Officer Mello testified that he heard on the police radio that the carjacking occurred in the Hawkins Street area of Providence and that the minivan was last seen heading towards 14 Officer Mello testified that the acronym “BOLO” stands for “be on the lookout.” See also State v. Austin, No. 2013-77, 2015 WL 1954726 at  n. 4 (R.I. May 1, 2015). -8- Branch Avenue. He stated that he responded to that area and “[t]ried to figure out the fastest route out of Providence,” which, in his opinion, “would be the route that they [the carjackers] would have taken.” Officer Mello testified that he determined that the fastest route would be Charles Street, heading outbound towards North Providence; he stated that he proceeded to drive along that route, eventually discovering the blue Kia minivan parked in the Walgreens parking lot. It was his testimony that, after he located the minivan, he “contacted dispatch” with the vehicle’s description, and it was confirmed that the vehicle which he had discovered was the carjacked Kia minivan. Officer Mello further testified that he stayed at the scene and continued to pay attention to the ambient activity; in particular, he said that he could observe the cars that were passing by and that he “looked in every one.” He indicated that it was a “sunny summer day” and that he could see the people inside the passing cars. He also testified that he was “able to see which way the drivers of those [passing] cars were looking[.]” Officer Mello added that there was a “heavy police presence” at the Walgreens parking lot; he specified that there were “about 12 police officers, [and] maybe a half dozen police cars [with] their lights on   .” Officer Mello next testified that he observed a Nissan Maxima pass by the parking lot and that he could see its occupants. He noted that the passengers were Hispanic males, matching the description in the BOLO that he had heard earlier. It was Officer Mello’s testimony that the occupants of the Nissan Maxima acted in a way that “raised a major red flag” for him; he said that, as the Nissan Maxima approached the Walgreens parking lot, in which there was the abovedescribed “heavy police presence,” the occupants “were just fixated straight ahead.” Officer Mello elaborated on this observation as follows: “Everyone else was looking in our direction wanting to see what was going on, just like [when] you pass a car accident, everyone -9- looks to see what’s going on. In this case every single person in the [Nissan Maxima] was just fixated straight ahead. They acted as though we weren’t even there.” Officer Mello proceeded to testify that he observed Trooper Alboum and Officer Reall depart to follow the Nissan Maxima, while he stayed at the scene and participated in a search of the Kia minivan.