The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Johnston Police. Chief Richard S. Tamburini or Deputy Chief David DeCesare has reviewed all reports
PUT THE BRAKES ON
On Sept. 21, Det. Christopher DeCesare paid a call on a North Kingstown man to inform him that Johnston Police considered him a suspect and almost certainly the subject of a high-speed chase through Johnston and Providence around 10 a.m. on Sept. 4. DeCesare reported that the suspect, identified as Michael H. Evans, 43, of 250 Old Baptist Rd. in North Kingstown, admitted that he was on Hartford Avenue at the time in question and that he was traveling eastbound at a “high rate of speed.” In fact, the report filed by Patrolman Matthew Winsor about the incident cited speeds of 74 mph, when Winsor first noticed him, and then 85 mph on Hartford Avenue after Winsor turned on his emergency lights and sirens to pull him over. Winsor reported that he followed Evans onto Route 6 and was doing 85 mph himself in pursuit when he saw the car pull away so fast that Winsor lost sight of him. In the meantime, Winsor had radioed in the pursuit and Patrolman David Loffler spotted the car on Route 6 and got the plate number. Loffler said he was attempting to follow the car at a safe distance when the car abruptly cut across two lanes of 10 a.m. traffic without a signal and took the exit to Olneyville. Loffler said it was impossible for him to safely take the exit himself and he lost sight of the car. Det. DeCesare said Evans explained to him that he spent the night at his girlfriend’s house and they had argued all night and that he was not aware of how fast he was going on Hartford Avenue because of his state of mind. DeCesare said he also admitted he knew police were pursuing him but he sped away to avoid a speeding ticket and possibly losing his license. In Winsor’s Sept. 4 report, he said he traced the license plate to North Kingstown and spoke with a Sgt. Mulligan of that department who told him they, too, had a high-speed chase with the same car in May of this year and it eluded them as well. Mulligan told him the address on the registration is a business and not a residence but gave him a second address in Jamestown that they discovered during their investigation. Winsor said Jamestown police did not find the suspect. A check of court records revealed other contacts Evans had with police, including a nolo contendere plea to driving without a license and failing to stop at the scene of an accident in Providence in May of 1989; nolo contendere to DUI in Charlestown in 1997; and nolo contendere to DUI in Jamestown in 2008. Evans was taken to Johnston headquarters where he was charged with reckless driving and eluding police. He was released with a summons for District Court on Oct. 5.
“BOTCH” & “SOME DUNCE”
According to a report filed by Patrolman Joseph Salvadore, it wasn’t exactly the smoothest robbery since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid died. In fact, it started going bad even before the suspects entered The Breadhouse on Greenville Avenue around 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 25 with the intention of robbing it. Salvadore said he was heading east on Greenville when he saw two men in sweat pants and “hoodies” with bandanas over their faces walking toward the store and one of them was carrying a rifle in his hand and immediately realized that the store was about to be robbed. He called for backup and pulled into the parking lot and ran to the door with his pistol drawn. He saw through the window that they were yelling, “Give me your [expletive] money.” Salvadore said the two men suddenly ran out of the store and saw Salvadore standing there but Salvadore did not see the rifle. He said the bandanas had fallen from their faces and he could plainly see their faces. He ordered them to stop but they both looked at him and then ran in separate directions. He said he called the foot pursuit in and chased the suspect who had been holding the rifle. Salvadore chased the man through a parking lot and over a fence and grabbed him. He said the suspect was trying to punch him but, after a brief struggle, he was brought under control and arrested. Salvadore said a bartender from a nearby club told him he saw a dark sedan exit the parking lot and speed off toward Providence with the other suspect. It was after that Salvadore learned that the suspect he arrested, identified as Jonathan M. Richards-Thurber, 26, of 25 Wetmore St., had dropped the rifle inside the store after the owner pulled his own gun and they fled the store empty handed. He said the suspect identified his accomplice and told him his partner had picked him up in Pawtucket before the incident and they drove to The Breadhouse in the other suspect’s mother’s car. He said they found the car and the other suspect, identified as Daniel Osler, 29, of 14 Larchmont St., who was taken into custody without incident. Police said the rifle the suspects used was actually a pellet gun and the gun the storeowner pulled on them was a BB pistol. Maj. Michael Colucci said the owner of the store was confident that the rifle was not a “real” gun when they pointed it at him so he pulled his unreal pistol on them. Colucci said the suspects were convinced it was a “real” pistol.
