Crime & Safety

Weedy Delivery? Cranston Cops Intercept 8lbs of Pot Shipped to Local House

A package shipped to a Cranston house loaded with eight pounds of marijuana worth about $20,000 was seized along with a white Chrysler last week after Cranston Police teamed up with the Drug Enforcement Agency and intercepted a FedEx package shipped to a local house.

The shipment was reportedly sent to a house that was unoccupied at the time of the delivery and unbeknownst to the homeowner. 

Police said they learned the package was to be delivered to an address on Eldridge Street after information was developed in a joint investigation.

As a result, surveillance was set up on Tuesday morning and police waited to see what happened.

Sure enough, at about 8:30 a.m., a white Chrysler slowly drove by the house and stopped across the street. 

About 25 minutes later, another car came by and parked near the Chrysler as the occupants talked to each other. 

At 9:15 a.m., the FedEx truck arrived and a female passenger in the second car, identified as Jhomallis Luna, 19, of 197 Colfax St., Providence, got out of the car, put some personal belongings into the Chrysler, and then walked to the front of the Eldridge Street house before signing for the package.

The package was then brought back to the Chrysler and both cars left the area. Registration checks of each car showed they came back to addresses in Providence and checks of the owners showed "no connection whatsoever to the Eldridge Street address," said Cranston Police Major Robert W. Ryan.

The Chrysler was stopped at the intersection of Burnside Street and Elsie Street by Cranston Patrol officers. The operator was identified as 39-year-old Danny Lantigua Lopez of 36 Jillson Street in Providence.

Police said both Luna and Lopez gave conflicting reasons why they were on Eldridge Street. Officer Gregg Bruno arrived with K-9 Bosco, who immediatley hit on and indicated the presence of drugs in the package.

Officers opened the package and found two orange five-gallon work buckets packed in foam peanuts and spray foam in an apparent attempt to mask the odor of the more-than eight pounds of marijuana packed inside heat sealed bags.

The shipping package was addressed to Jhomallis Angeles Luna at the Eldridge Street address with a sender label indicating the package was shipped from San Francisco, California.  

The Chrysler Lopez was driving and $550.00 in cash was seized and is being held for forfeiture proceedings. Both Lopez and Luna were charged with possession with the intent to distribute 1 kilo-5 kilos of marijuana. They were arraigned last week at Third District Court in Kent County.

Surety bail of $50,000 was set for Luna and she was released on personal recognizance. Lopez had his bail set at $60,000 with surety and he signed a waiver of extradition.

Find out what's happening in Cranstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Our partnerships with federal agencies are instrumental in preventing criminals from other communities from doing business in Cranston,” said Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo Jr. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.