Charges add up for alleged serial thief
Arrested on 4 counts of armed robbery, man now faces charges in connection with a total of 9 armed robberies across Valley
WOONSOCKET — A Blackstone man who was originally arrested on four counts of armed robbery last week is now facing charges in connection with a total of nine armed robberies in three Northern Rhode
Island communities and neighboring
Uxbridge, Mass.
The most recent charges against accused serial robber Patrick Dandeneau, 31, were filed in Third District Court on Tuesday by the North
Smithfield Police Department, including first-degree robbery, felony assault, disorderly conduct and use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
North Smithfield Police Capt. Stephen Riccitelli said Dandeneau tried to rob the Sunoco gas station on Route 146 on Jan. 12 but he ended up fleeing empty-handed after a struggle with a unyielding clerk.
“He displayed a firearm and attempted to take some cash,” said Riccitelli. “The clerk wasn’t having any of it... he chased him out with a baseball bat.”
The Cumberland Police Department has also brought three counts of first-degree robbery against Dandeneau in Sixth District Court.
Cumberland Deputy Police Chief Douglas Ciullo said one of the robberies occurred on the same day Dandeneau was chased out of the Sunoco in North Smithfield.
Shortly after that foiled attempt, Ciullo said, Dandeneau robbed the Cumberland Farms store at 2400 Mendon Road.
Dandeneau is also accused of hitting another location in Cumberland on two occasions. Ciullo said the police charged him with robbing the Gulf Express at 3 Pine Swamp Road on Dec. 13 and again on Dec. 31.
“In two he got money,” said Ciullo. “In the last one, at the Cumberland Farms, he left with the cash register.”
Dandeneau has been held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions since the WPD arrested him on Jan. 15. They later charged him with four counts of armed robbery for crimes that occurred during a span of about two weeks.
In every robbery, police say, Dandeneau’s modus operandi was similar. Wearing a face mask and dark clothing, he brandished a firearm and demanded money.
Dandeneau’s pattern of committing a second holdup after leaving an earlier one empty-handed also showed up in the series of crimes that occurred in Woonsocket.
On Dec. 30, police say, Dandeneau robbed a Gulf Express station at 825 Park Ave. of roughly $200 in cash about three hours after a failed attempt to rob T & D Market, 261 Dulude Ave.
He’s also accused of robbing the Shell station at 1030 Social St. on Dec. 26 and Seasons Corner Market, 1325 Diamond Hill Road, on Jan. 11.
Because Dandeneau’s face was well-hidden by a mask, the police were unable to develop a good physical description of a possible suspect, but they did have details about the vehicle he probably used. That information turned out to be critical in their apprehension of Dandeneau on Jan. 15.
Several officers were monitoring radio chatter from nearby Massachusetts when they overheard a report about an attempted armed robbery on Quaker Highway in Uxbridge. Officers issued a beon-the-lookout alert for a late model Toyota, silver or gray, that might have been used as the getaway car – a description that matched the city robberies.
Theorizing the thief might be headed back to familiar turf, the police set up checkpoints at the Massachusetts line and stopped Dandeneau just after he crossed into the city on Harris Avenue about 10:20 that night.
Police said they seized evidence in the vehicle that connected Dandeneau to the crimes, though they haven’t elaborated.
In addition to the offenses in Rhode Island, the Uxbridge Police Department is planning to bring charges of attempted armed robbery against Dandeneau for the incident at the Extra Mart on Quaker Highway, the same night he was arrested in Woonsocket, according to court records.
There have been no reports of any injuries connected with any offense allegedly committed by Dandeneau.
He is due back in court for a bail review hearing on Jan. 30.