City man charged with breaking into cars just hours after leaving court
WOONSOCKET – Hours after leaving a courtroom where he’d answered shoplifting and other charges out of North Smithfield, a 19-year-old city man got arrested again Thursday for allegedly breaking into cars in the Robinson Street area.
The North Smithfield police had Joshua Oliveira in Third District court Thursday morning on charges of trespassing and shoplifting, a clerk said. The NSPD couldn’t be reached for details about the crime, but online court records show he was released following his arraignment on those charges from the Warwick court house.
Later that night, about 8:40 p.m., Oliveira was one of three individuals, including two male juveniles, who were arrested after city police investigated a report that several young males were trying to break into cars in the area of Dulude Avenue and Robinson Street. He was taken into custody after Detective Gabriel J. Koneczny and several other
officers chased the suspects in cruisers and on foot, running through backyards and scaling fences before corralling them within a few blocks of each other.
Two residents, including one
whose car had been broken into and another who witnessed the incident, were apparently chasing after the suspects at the same time as the police officers The neighbors subdued Oliveira just as Koneczny was catching up to him.
Police took him into custody on three counts – attempted larceny under $1,500; obstructing an officer
in execution of duty; and conspiracy. The juveniles were charged with similar offenses.
They weren’t charged with any other offenses, but Koneczny’s report says vehicle-related crime has been “an ongoing issue in this area with numerous reports of vandalism, larceny from motor vehicles and larceny of motor vehicles.”
Police said they discovered two cars broken into after Oliveira was taken into custody. A $20 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card was stolen from one of the vehicles, but nothing appeared to have been taken from the other.
Oliveira, of 182 Cumberland St., Apt. 16, was arraigned on the new charges Friday in Sixth District Court, Providence. Bail was set at $1,000 with surety, or $100 cash, but he was remanded to the state prison after failing to post the necessary amount, a court clerk said.
Oliveira had no criminal history at the beginning of the week.