Man charged in Arnold St. shooting
WOONSOCKET – A feud that began over a week earlier in Providence flared anew – with gunfire
– outside an Arnold Street bar, resulting in the arrest of a local man on multiple firearms and other charges Monday.
Police also charged Brady R. Robinson, 24, with escape and assault because he allegedly tried to bolt through an unlocked door at police headquarters when they arrested him – a day after he fired an unknown number of 9 mm rounds toward a crowd of pedestrians.
Robinson’s fugitive flight ended as abruptly as it began as several officers tackled him to the ground just a few feet outside the Clinton Street police station.
“Robinson made it just outside the exit door where I was able to grab him by the back of the shirt and take him to the ground between the bushes and a sewer cap located on the right front side of the station,” Detective Sgt. Philip Kamer Jr. wrote
in his report. “Robinson was actively fighting with me in attempts to get free.”
A resident of 63 Fountain St., Robinson is facing nine counts in all, including firing in a compact area; possession of a firearm after a conviction for a crime of violence; firing across a highway; disorderly conduct; carrying a pistol without a permit; two counts of vandalism; and possession of marijuana – a non-criminal offense.
The episode began a few minutes after 1 a.m. Sunday when Sgt. Patrick McGourty and Lt. Michael Villiard, on patrol near the Main Street Bypass, heard the sound of gunshots that appeared to be originating closer to downtown. As they reached Market Square, a bystander yelled out to them, “They’re shooting up there,” pointing in the direction of Arnold Street.
As they turned onto Arnold, against a one-way, they heard several more rounds, including one that sounded like it ricocheted against something near their cruiser. A short distance ahead, they could see several males near Fountain Street with their shirts off.
When police began questioning those individuals, one of them told officers he had just left the Backstreet Bar when he encountered Robinson, wielding a firearm, standing directly in front of him outside the entrance.
Clad in a red and black hoodie, Robinson, the man told police, was the same individual with whom he’d had a confrontation about a week ago in Providence.
As he stood in front of him outside the Backstreet Bar, Robinson allegedly exclaimed, “Hey, you got a beef with me?,” then displayed a black handgun jutting from his waistband. The man told police he wasn’t frightened by the gun and began walking away, with a group of friends, toward Fountain Street.
As they did so, they began removing their shirts to get ready for a fistfight with Robinson, who also had friends with him. At one point, he told police, there were 15-20 people in the roadway.
As his group got near Fountain Street, Robinson began shooting towards them, the man told police.
No individual was struck by gunfire. But police said they found four objects that had been struck by bullets in the general vicinity of where the group had congregated. They included two door casings at 86 and 84 Arnold St., both occupied dwellings; the corner masonry of A1 Radiator, 4 Fountain St.; and a Bobcat-style mini-loader parked in the area. Also, police recovered a spent . 9mm round from the wheel rim of the mini-loader and several spent 9mm shell casings from the area, they said.
Robinson was arrested about 9:44 a.m. Monday after police saw him driving a gold Honda not far from his apartment. He was taken into custody after police initiated a high-risk vehicle stop, with weapons drawn, near Arnold and Short streets.
Robinson allegedly tried to escape from police custody about an hour later, as he was being escorted from an interview room where he had just given investigators a statement about the incident, according to police reports.
Following an initial appearance on the charges in Sixth District Court Tuesday, Robinson was remanded to the Adult Correctional Institutions for violating his bail on pending charges of second-degree child abuse and domestic assault, according to the judiciary’s web site.
He is due back in court for another hearing on Oct. 23.