Woonsocket Police Department
242 Clinton Street • Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895
Telephone (401) 766-1212 • Fax (401) 765-4922
August 30, 2021
Man charged with Cruelty to Animals
Woonsocket, RI; On Friday August 27, 2021, K9 officer Jason Berthelette received a call about an abandoned dog (grey and white pitbull) tied to a tree by railroad tracks just off Arnold Street in Woonsocket. The dog had reportedly been there for at least an hour, without shade, water or food in approximately 93-degree heat.
Officer Berthelette located the dog and was able to free it from the tree to which it was tied and transported it to the Woonsocket Animal Control shelter and gave the dog appropriate treatment.
Through an exhaustive investigation, Officer Berthelette was able to identify the dog’s owner as Melvin Shaw, 41 years old, of 209 Rathbun St. Woonsocket, RI.
Mr. Melvin Shaw appeared in 6th District Court this morning and charged with:
1. Cruelty to Animals (Felony)
2. Obstructing an Officer.
His bail is set at $2,500 with surety and must turn over all domestic animals in his possession. Mr. Melvin is scheduled to appear in Superior Court for a pre arraignment conference on 12/10/21.
Follow-up questions regarding this case can be made with Captain John Picard at 401-767-8832 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Justice Department says two members of Elon Musk's DOGE team may have misused Social Security data. In a recent court filing, the DOJ alleges the employees were secretly in touch with a group trying to overturn election results. It's unclear if the DOGE employees shared the data with the unnamed advocacy group. Both have been referred for possible violations of the Hatch Act, which bars government workers from using their jobs for political purposes. 
