OFFICER CHARGED IN DRUG STING

The Providence police say Patrolman Robert L. Guarniero sold cocaine
to an undercover detective. Guarniero already faces charges of
domestic assault in an August incident.

PROVIDENCE -- A city police officer who was out on bail while
awaiting trial on charges of domestic assault was charged with
delivery and possession of cocaine Monday after he allegedly sold a
$120 bag of the drug to an undercover detective.

Patrolman Robert L. Guarniero, 34, of 49 Huber Ave., appeared before
District Court Judge Michael A. Higgins yesterday morning and was
ordered held at the Adult Correctional Institutions pending a
bail-violation hearing on Nov. 14.

Maj. Martin F. Hames, who oversees internal affairs, said Guarniero
was arrested as a result of an investigation initiated by the
Providence police after receiving a tip that Guarniero was selling
drugs.

"This was initiated by us, and we will clean our own house," Hames
said. "Our duty is first and foremost to the residents of this city,
and if it's one of our own, we will handle it."

Hames said the internal affairs bureau and the Special Services
Division set up a sting to catch Guarniero, assisted by state police
Maj. Steven M. Pare and the state police drug unit.

According to a report prepared by the Special Services Division, a
state police detective working undercover went to Guarniero's
apartment early Monday afternoon and bought a bag of cocaine from
him. The police said the bag contained about 3.5 grams of the drug --
what is known as an "eight-ball."

At about 4:15 p.m., detectives returned to Guarniero's apartment with
a search warrant. In Guarniero's bedroom, the police said, a
detective seized a small bag of cocaine from under a mattress. Gun
ammunition and narcotics paraphernalia were also seized, according to
the police report.

Hames said Guarniero did not have his police-issue gun anymore,
because he had surrendered it before the drug sting.

Asked how the new charges would affect Guarniero's employment status,
Hames said Guarniero will be the subject of both internal and
criminal investigations, and even if he is released on bail, he will
not return to work while the drug case is pending.

Under the policemen's bill of rights, once Guarniero is indicted or
charged by information, he can be suspended without pay. But because
the Police Department can only suspend Guarniero with pay at this
point, he will be allowed to remain on injured-on-duty status
instead, Hames said.

Guarniero, who has been a patrolman for six years, went out on
injured leave after a car accident in his cruiser Aug. 10 on
Blackstone Boulevard.

Less than a week later, at about 1:55 a.m. on Aug. 16, Guarniero was
arrested by fellow officers who responded to a 911 hang-up call from
his apartment and were told by his girlfriend that Guarniero had
pushed her during a drunken fight.

When the officers arrived, Heather Tingle, 36, of Rehoboth, was
crying and picking up clothes that had been thrown on the driveway,
according to a police report. Tingle said she and Guarniero had been
out drinking, and when they got home, they got into an argument about
one of her ex-boyfriends.

A struggle ensued, and Guarniero allegedly pushed Tingle, "causing
her to fall backwards several feet," the report says.

Guarniero was charged with domestic assault. He pleaded innocent in
District Court, and he was released on $1,000 personal recognizance
bail, with an order not to contact Tingle.

On Sept. 14, Guarniero was arrested on a warrant for failure to
appear at a pretrial hearing in the case. Guarniero told the court
that he had missed the hearing because of a mix-up with his lawyer,
and he was released again on $1,000 personal recognizance bail after
paying a $125 fine.