Christian Arroyo appeared before the Municipal Court of Providence on a charge related to an unregistered vehicle. Arroyo told the court he had recently acquired a 2005 Mercury Sable without title or registration, that the car had a boot and he lived in the vehicle, and that he could not afford fees. The court identified the car's registration as belonging to "Rosario Espina."

Judge Frank Caprio acknowledged Arroyo's circumstances and noted there were $290 in outstanding fines tied to the vehicle. The judge said his inclination was to keep the registration in the named owner's records so Arroyo "won't have to pay" and directed that the $100 boot fee be paid from the court's Filomena Fund (a donations fund the judge described as named after his mother), so Arroyo would not be required to pay the fee. The transcript records the court's instruction that the boot would be released that morning and that Arroyo could retrieve personal belongings from the tow company, but that he should not drive the vehicle with the existing plates.

The court's action resolved the immediate impediment to Arroyo accessing his possessions by releasing the boot and covering the fee; the transcript does not record a transfer of title or any permanent resolution of the outstanding fines.