Opinion ID: 1941530
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Circumstances Surrounding Defendant's Arrest

Text: The defendant was not arrested until July 26, 2003. Officer Thomas Zincone, Jr., one of the officers who arrested defendant, testified at trial that he was familiar with defendant and, at the time of defendant's arrest, had been looking for him for approximately three to four weeks because he was wanted for several armed robberies which took place in Providence. Officer Zincone further testified that, in the course of a patrol several days before defendant's arrest on July 26, he saw defendant walking on the sidewalk in the same general area where he was later arrested. He testified that on that occasion defendant made eye contact with the officers and then ran into yards. Officer Zincone further testified that, after chasing defendant through several yards, both he and his partner, Officer Dennis O'Brien, were unable to find him. Officer Zincone testified that, on the day of defendant's arrest (July 26), he and his partner were on patrol in the West End section of Providence. They were driving a black Crown Victoria, an unmarked police vehicle that Officer Zincone testified was very well-known on the street. At approximately 11 p.m. that evening, while patrolling on Waverly Street in the West End, Officer Zincone and his partner approached a silver Cadillac that was parked obstructing traffic in the street. Officer Zincone testified that he and his partner pulled their vehicle parallel to the Cadillac and that he shone his flashlight into the vehicle because the operator still wasn't paying attention to us on the side of him. When the beam from the flashlight caused the operator of the Cadillac to pay attention to the police vehicle, Officer Zincone realized that the operator was defendant. According to Officer Zincone's trial testimony, defendant then looked at the officer and became very startled    and he frantically placed the vehicle into drive and attempted to [elude the officers] by taking off with his vehicle. Officer Zincone testified that, upon perceiving defendant's attempt to elude them, Officer O'Brien (who was driving the Crown Victoria) pulled in front of [defendant] to prevent him from leaving the area. Officer Zincone further testified that, as he exited the police vehicle and approached defendant's vehicle on the passenger side, he noticed that the doors were locked and that the windows had been rolled up. Officer Zincone testified that, because defendant's vehicle was still moving in an attempt to edge away from the police car, he ordered defendant to stop his vehicle. The defendant's vehicle then stopped moving, and Officer O'Brien approached it from the driver's side. After encountering some resistance from defendant, Officer O'Brien removed him from his vehicle and placed him under arrest. Officer Zincone further testified that, while he was bringing defendant to a marked police car, he said to the arrestee: Jason, get in the car. According to Officer Zincone's trial testimony, defendant responded that his name was not Jason; Officer Zincone stated that he laughed at that point because he knew who defendant was.