North Smithfield man arrested in city for 2nd motorcycle violation

WOONSOCKET — Arrested for driving his motorcycle in a reckless manner, a North Smithfield man was ordered held without bail Monday for violating his probation on a previous conviction for the same offense.

Stiven Zapata, 23, of 293 St. Paul St., was arrested after he crashed his motorcycle on River Street about 10 p.m. Saturday – following an attempt by a policeman to pull him over.

Officer Michael A. Theroux said Zapata whizzed by him

on Social Street, near the Stadium Theatre, doing about 35 mph in a 25 mph zone at about 10 p.m. – without any headlights on. After Theroux pulled over to the right lane to let Zapata pass, the officer activated his overhead flashers and moved behind the cyclist, but Zapata refused to pull over.

Instead, he allegedly accelerated and continued onto Blackstone Street, where he swerved into an oncoming lane. Citing the high number of pedestrians in the area and the fact that Zapata was traveling without a headlamp, Theroux cut off the chase. Before doing so, however, he observed Zapata pass through a stop sign at Blackstone Street and Harris Avenue.

Theroux lost sight of the motorcyclist at Blackstone and River streets and didn’t know which way he turned at the T-stop. Looking right and left, however, he saw a small crowd gathering in front of Luc’s Bar, where he could see Zapata standing near his motorcycle after “some sort of accident.”

A patron at the bar later told the officer she was on the sidewalk smoking a cigarette when she saw the bike travel by at a high rate of speed, “then heard the male fall from the bike.”

Zapata suffered a few abrasions and did not appear to be seriously injured, but he was transported to Landmark Medical Center for an evaluation after being booked at the police station.

In addition to second-offense reckless driving, Zapata was cited for failure to employ his headlamp, driving an unregistered motorcycle and operating without proof of insurance.

Following an initial appearance in District Court Monday, a judge ordered Zapata held at the Adult Correctional Institutions on a previous conviction for reckless driving in October 2017. That charge was also lodged against him by the Woonsocket Police Department.

He’s entitled to a hearing on the violation charge, but a date was not immediately scheduled, according to the judiciary’s website.