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Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Two men arrested after ‘brazen' shooting at R.I. shopping center
A retired State Police lieutenant who witnessed the shooting reported a man dressed in black fired several rounds at another man, who fled inside the store to take cover, officials said. 'A surveillance video shows the suspects waiting near LA Fitness for an extended period before ambushing the victim as he exited the gym,' police said. 'The shooter fired five rounds at close range while the target attempted to flee, ultimately taking shelter inside a nearby business.' Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up No injuries were reported, according to police. Advertisement According to authorities, the apparent target of the shooting 'refused to cooperate with investigators.' Police did not publicly identify the man, but said he has a 'lengthy criminal record and known gang affiliations in Massachusetts.' Witnesses provided police details of the suspects' vehicle, described as a 'green/gray Kia with Massachusetts license plates,' which officials later determined was stolen from Swansea, Mass., officials said. The description was shared with other law enforcement in the region and 'within minutes, the Rhode Island State Police located the vehicle on Route 6 and initiated a pursuit, which continued through the Smith Hill neighborhood of Providence,' authorities said. Advertisement The chase ended in the Providence Place Mall parking garage, where both suspects attempted to flee on foot, and were apprehended by Providence police and State Police, officials said. One of the men was found with a .25-caliber handgun, police said. Authorities intend to conduct ballistic testing to confirm whether the firearm 'matches the shell casings recovered at the scene,' police said. According to officials, both Pizarro and Ross have 'extensive criminal histories involving violent and narcotics-related offenses.' As of late Wednesday night, both were being held at State Police headquarters and were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in Providence County District Court, police said. 'This brazen act of targeted violence at one of our city's busiest and most vibrant shopping destinations is unprecedented in my tenure as chief,' Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist, who Pizarro was charged by Cranston police with six charges, including assault with intent to commit a specified felony, felony assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharge of a firearm while committing a crime of violence. Ross was charged by Cranston police with intent to commit a specified felony, felony assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of felony conspiracy. Both men also face State Police charges. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
SUV crashes into highway work zone in Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — An investigation is underway after a woman crashed her SUV into a construction zone on the highway Monday evening, according to Rhode Island State Police. Lt. Peter Filuminia told 12 News the driver hit several traffic barrels and barriers, as well as a trailer carrying an arrow board, on I-95 North near Exit 38. 12 News spotted the woman's SUV being towed away with significant damage to the passenger side. Filuminia said the woman was brought to Rhode Island Hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening. The cause of the crash is unknown at this time, but Filuminia said it is being investigated as a 'possible DUI.' Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
McKee's FY 2026 budget underestimated labor costs for R.I. State Police, correctional officers
Members of the Rhode Island State Police march in the Newport St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current) You wouldn't suspect any opposition to proposed pay raises for state troopers and correctional officers based on public hearings Friday morning. The requisite meetings on new collective bargaining agreements held just before the holiday weekend concluded in under 10 minutes, with no public feedback on either contract. But legislative leaders are less than thrilled about the salary increases and accompanying benefits for roughly 1,250 state employees, which require $15 million more than what Gov. Dan McKee planned for in his fiscal 2026 budget proposal. Unlike most other state employee unions, the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers and the Rhode Island Troopers Association had not inked new deals with the administration when McKee unveiled his proposed $14 billion spending plan in January. So McKee put in a $30 million placeholder for the yet-to-be signed contracts. Turns out, the agreements are actually going to cost the state $45 million over the next two years, rather than the $30 million McKee budgeted. Hardly welcome news to the leaders of the Rhode Island General Assembly already grappling with a budget deficit and potentially devastating federal funding cuts just weeks before the end of the 2025 legislative session. A spending plan must be approved by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. 'Unfortunately, the newly revealed shortfall from the Administration's contract settlements is not the only issue we need to address in the budget,' House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said in an emailed statement. 'It certainly worsens the situation and is, frankly, beyond frustrating.' Senate President Valarie Lawson also appeared caught off-guard by the unexpected cost hike, which she said she learned about on Wednesday. 'While this is deeply concerning, I will work with the Senate Finance Committee to address this unexpected challenge,' Lawson said in an emailed statement. Laura Hart, a spokesperson for McKee's office, defended the contract costs in an emailed response Friday, noting that the third-quarter revenue report from the state budget office shows an extra $60.9 million expected to flow into state coffers by the end of the fiscal year 2025. 'The Governor encourages the General Assembly to support the contractual increases for public safety personnel using these dollars in the upcoming budget,' Hart said. Both contracts call for annual cost-of-living adjustments starting at 5% in year one, with a 4% second-year bump and a 3% adjustment in the third year — identical to the incremental scale adopted for 4,000 other state employees under contracts finalized last fall. So how did McKee mess up the math? For one, the raises for 255 state troopers start earlier than expected: the 5% pay bump is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2023, rather than the July 1, 2024, start date for other state union workers, including correction officers, said Karen Greco, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration. The tentative agreement, reached on Feb. 28, also features a 'uniform allowance' not accounted for in the governor's budget projections, Greco said. Erik Jensen, president of the state troopers union, acknowledged but did not offer a response to questions about the agreement on Friday. Richard Ferruccio, president of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, remained unsatisfied with the terms of the 1,000-member union's new state contract, which was finalized on May 14 after months of arbitration. 'I don't want to sound ungrateful,' Ferruccio said in an interview Friday. 'But I still feel somewhat frustrated with it.' His main grievance was not with the annual cost-of-living increases, but accompanying benefits that would make the union better able to attract and retain officers. Staffing woes at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections are well-documented, and costly; the 117 open positions as of March 22 is projected to lead to a $42.9 million overtime cost for the full fiscal year 2025, according to a presentation to state lawmakers in April. It certainly worsens the situation and is, frankly, beyond frustrating. – House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi Ferruccio blamed staffing shortages on uncompetitive benefits relative to other local law enforcement officers and neighboring states, where officers can reach the 'top step' of pay in a shorter period of time. 'There are only a handful of people that really want to get involved in any type of law enforcement,' Ferruccio said. 'When you look at other local police departments, they have a significantly better situation with the top step than we do.' He had hoped to lower the seniority requirement for union officers to reach maximum pay from its current 14 years to six years, matching the policy offered for correctional officers in Connecticut. But the compromise struck with the state cuts the length of service to 10 years beginning this June, and eight years starting in June 2026. The agreement also includes a 2.5% pay raise for anyone who stays at least 20 years. The governor's budget did not account for the costs associated with these changes, either, Greco said. But Ferruccio said the final price tag should not have come as a surprise, noting that the changes to top step and retention benefits were longstanding asks by the union. 'I think the governor was given bad information by DOC,' Ferruccio said. He pointed to the grossly underestimated cost to close the state's minimum security facility — initially pegged at $1 million in McKee's budget when a study found it would actually cost $67 million to $71 million — as an example of miscommunication by the corrections department. J.R. Ventura, a spokesperson for the state corrections department, did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Friday. State worker contract costs are not the only expense McKee underestimated in his fiscal 2026 budget proposal. The state will also have to make up a $24 million shortfall in education aid to local school districts in its fiscal 2025 and 26 budgets due to corrected data on the number of students in poverty. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Boston Globe
28-04-2025
- Boston Globe
Providence man in ‘stable' condition after being shot by Johnston police officer he allegedly struck with a car
Officials have previously said Peterson is expected to survive. According to authorities, police responded to a report of a possible disturbance at a Shell gas station at 1396 Hartford Ave. in Johnston at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. A third-party caller reported a 'potential argument' between a man and a woman in the parking lot, police said. At the scene, officers found both of them, with the man 'seated alone in the driver's seat of a white Nissan Sentra, positioned in the parking lot facing out toward Hartford Avenue,' police said. Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up 'As one of the responding officers exited his patrol vehicle, the driver of the Sentra accelerated forward, striking the officer,' police said. 'At that time, the officer discharged his service weapon, firing multiple rounds at the driver.' Advertisement The Sentra continued north across Hartford Avenue before it hit a pylon and came to a stop, police said. Officers provided medical aid to the driver, who was later identified as Peterson and brought to the hospital. 'The involved officer sustained minor injuries during the incident,' police said. 'He was transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment and was subsequently discharged.' According to police, at the time of Saturday's shooting, Peterson was wanted on a warrant from Rhode Island State Police on charges of obstructing an officer and reckless driving. Advertisement Peterson was arraigned at the hospital on Sunday evening on charges of felony assault, assault of a police officer, obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and 'reckless driving and other offenses against public safety,' police said. Peterson is being held without bail as a probation and bail violator, according to authorities. The shooting will be investigated by members of the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office, State Police, and the Johnston Police Department, as required by protocol, officials said. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police search part of Scarborough Beach as serial killer rumor spreads
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — The discovery of human remains in several locations around Southern New England has sparked fear of a potential serial killer in the area. Since the beginning of March, remains have turned up in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Rumors started circulating in a Facebook group called 'New England Serial Killer,' which has since changed its name. While some people have suggested these discoveries could signify there's a serial killer, state and local police say there's no indication at this time that any of the incidents are connected. RELATED: Body found in Foster identified as missing Warwick woman During the past week, Narragansett police were made aware of a post in the Facebook group that said multiple bodies may be buried in the Black Point area of Scarborough Beach. 'The anonymous poster commented numerous times in the group about it being a metaphorical and literary work,' police wrote. 'The user also posted that they were working on a novel and that users were overanalyzing a work of fiction.' Due to the rumor, Narragansett detectives and cadaver K-9s from Rhode Island State Police 'conducted an extensive search of the area with negative results for any clandestine graves.' Police said they have also been in contact with the FBI. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
