North Providence robbery suspect killed Boston officer

NORTH PROVIDENCE – Local police say a man who shot and killed a Boston police officer in 1993 punched a woman and robbed her of more than $12,000 in a bank parking lot in North Providence on Tuesday.

Joshua McCullough, 60, was arrested at his Warwick residence at about 6 a.m. Thursday by SWAT team members from the Warwick police, the Rhode Island State Police and the East Providence police, according to a news release from North Providence Police Chief Col. Alfredo Ruggiero Jr.

At about 9:55 a.m. Tuesday, the police say McCullough approached a woman in the parking lot of Citizens Bank at 1090 Charles St., punched her in the chest and pulled a deposit bag from her before fleeing in a silver Jeep Cherokee.

The victim had gone to the bank to make a deposit for her employer, Family Dollar in Providence, of about $12,665, according to the police.

With help from Providence detectives and the Flock camera system in Providence and Warwick, the North

Providence police were able to identify the suspect as McCullough, the police said.

On Wednesday, the police obtained an arrest warrant for McCullough and search warrants for his residence and the Jeep Cherokee, which the police say was found in the driveway of McCullough’s residence. He was arrested at 90 Aspinet Drive, according to the Warwick police.

McCullough is being charged with first-degree robbery and felony assault. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment in District Court, Providence.

On Feb. 19, 1993, McCullough, then named Terrell Muhammad, shot and killed Boston police officer Thomas Rose, according to the North Providence police. It happened while McCullough was in police custody for suspicion of theft.

He was sentenced to 26 to 30 years in prison for Rose’s murder and served 15 years before being released in 2009, according to the North Providence police.

McCullough was also arrested and charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of a Dorchester clerk in 1986, serving about six years in prison, the North Providence police said.