Warren police make arrest after diversion attempt fails

An East Providence man was charged with the false reporting of a crime and obstruction Friday, six months after police say he placed a bogus phone call for an unusual reason.

On April 27, Sean T. Jobin, 27, was spotted by police pushing his disabled car down Croade Street. They assisted him and, noticing that the car had expired tags, helped him push it into a parking spot behind the station.

“We gave him a break” and let him park it rather than tow it, Warren Police Lt. Roy Borges said.

Around that time, police had been receiving multiple bogus calls and they’d noticed a pattern — and recognized a voice. About an hour and a half after police helped Mr. Tobin park his car, they got another one — a report of a fight behind the Ocean State Plaza. Several officers went out to investigate and found nothing. But when they returned, officers noticed that Mr. Jobin’s car was missing.

Lt. Borges said police reviewed the Ocean State call, recognized the same voice, and on a hunch checked video camera footage from a police camera that covered the area where Mr. Jobin’s car had been parked. Sure enough, while officers were out on the Ocean State call, Mr. Jobin came and drove the car away, Lt. Borges said.

Police issued a warrant for his arrest and picked him up Friday.

This is not Mr. Jobin’s first run-in with the law. Police in Warren and East Providence have charged him with domestic violence, simple assault, violating a protective order, counterfeiting and other charges.