Convicted killer of Boston officer arrested in R.I. robbery

A man who served prison time for killing a Boston police officer in 1993 was arrested Thursday in Rhode Island and accused of violently robbing a woman trying to make a bank deposit for her employer, authorities said.

Joshua McCullough, 60, of Warwick, R.I., was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the alleged robbery Tuesday outside the Citizens Bank branch located at 1090 Charles St. in North Providence, police said.

McCullough, formerly known as Terrell Muhammad, was ordered held without bail later Thursday in Third Division District Court, where he did not enter a plea, records show.

McCullough was going by Muhammad on Feb. 19, 1993, when he “shot and killed Boston Police officer Thomas Rose while in police custody for suspicion of theft at a Boston Police precinct,” said North Providence police in a statement.

Prosecutors said Muhammad attempted to escape and that led to a struggle inside the Area A-1 station during which Rose was mortally wounded with his own 9mm service pistol.

Muhammad, who later became McCullough, was sentenced to 26 to 30 years for the slaying but was released after 15 years in 2009, police said.

“McCullough was also arrested and charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of a Dorchester clerk in 1986,” police said. “He served prison time for approximately 6 years.”

In the incident in North Providence Tuesday, McCullough allegedly approached the female victim in the bank parking lot as she was carrying a bag containing more than $12,000 to deposit for her employer, Family Dollar, police said. He allegedly punched the woman in the chest and snatched the bag before fleeing in a Jeep Cherokee.