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Bill
Suspect charged in robberies at gas station, bank branch
The police say the robber submitted a holdup note that had his full name written on it.
08:25 AM EDT on Friday, August 26, 2005
BY RICHARD C. DUJARDIN and TOM MORGAN
Journal Staff Writers
PROVIDENCE -- A robbery suspect linked to morning holdups at a Mobil station in Johnston and a Citizens Bank branch on Plainfield Street was captured in a backyard on Moorefield Street yesterday, moments after trying to elude the police by attempting to jump into a moving car.
Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Providence police officers Manny Soares, left, and Jim Conti, right, take robbery suspect Joseph L. Caparrelli into custody yesterday.
The police say that Joseph L. Caparrelli, 39, whose last known address was 33 King St., Johnston, made two big mistakes in the morning crime spree: writing a holdup note on a paper that had his name on it, and stealing a car equipped with an antitheft device that sends its location to the police.
According to Johnston Deputy Police Chief Gary W. Maddocks Jr., Caparrelli wore a hooded sweatshirt when he pulled up to the Mobil station at 1401 Plainfield Pike at 5:40 a.m. yesterday and threatened the clerk with a knife. Vaulting the counter, he allegedly removed $300 from the cash register and left the scene in a white van.
Maddocks said Caparrelli's first mistake was to use a stolen car equipped with a LoJack system, which sends a radio signal from vehicles that have been reported stolen.
In this instance, Cranston police learned that a van matching the description of the one used in the holdup had been stolen from Fletcher Avenue in their city.
The police began a search and picked up a strong signal from the antitheft device that led them to a parking lot on Murray Street, just behind the Citizens branch at 732 Plainfield St.
At 9:10 a.m., not long after the police found and recovered the stolen vehicle, a man identified as Caparrelli walked into the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding cash, according to the police.
Johnston's deputy chief says Caparrelli's second "stupid mistake" -- which Providence police declined to confirm -- was using a piece of paper with his full name on it to write his hold-up note.
Providence Lt. Hugh Clements said a bank security guard and both Johnston and Providence police were on Caparrelli's trail.
The security guard followed the suspect on foot as long as he could, taking directions from people who saw the man running. The guard was then picked up by a Providence detective as they and other police units intensified their search.
It was then, the police say, that Caparrelli was spotted and tried to jump into two occupied cars. In his first attempt, he tried to get into the rear seat of a moving car, but the door was locked. In his second try, he was about to get into a stopped car on Moorefield Street when he was pushed away by the driver.
Then the police spotted him running into a driveway on Moorefield Street. After running through several yards, he was captured -- with wads of money stuffed into his pockets -- by Providence patrol officers Jim Conti and Manny Soares. After being identified as the robber by several bank employees, Caparrelli was taken to the city's Public Safety Complex and charged with bank robbery and assault with intent to rob.
Johnston police say the white van that was recovered in Providence had a broken window, and it appeared that it was damaged in an accident. Finger prints and blood were found on the driver's side, and it was evident that Caparrelli's hand was bleeding.
Maddocks said Caparrelli was charged with first-degree armed robbery, felonious assault with a weapon in the commission of a robbery, and possession of a stolen van.
He said Caparrelli had an extensive criminal record including several other robberies. He was being held by Providence police for a hearing this morning in District Court.
Yesterday's robbery at Citizens was the third bank robbery in Providence in two weeks. Last week, the police arrested Jennifer Bennett, 25, of Cranston, in connection with robberies at Sovereign Bank branches on Smith Street and North Main Street.
