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July 17, 2007

Update: Man charged with assault was on FBI list

SMITHFIELD -- A man arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend turned up on an FBI wanted list, the police said today.

Richard J. Joseph, 34, of 179 Pleasant View Ave., was taken into custody after a search in which officers enlisted a K-9 dog from the North Providence police, said Capt. Robert W. VanNieuwenhuyze, spokesman for the Smithfield police.

VanNieuwenhuyze said that officers were dispatched about 9:45 p.m. on Monday after a man was reported to be assaulting a woman near Mac’s Liquor Mart on Pleasant View Avenue. When officers arrived, they were told by witnesses that the pair had left in a white vehicle.

Patrol Officer Jeffrey Scott located the vehicle and began following it, VanNieuwenhuyze said, but the vehicle then turned abruptly onto Riverview Avenue, where the suspect took off by foot.

The woman, whom VanNieuwenhuyze declined to identify other than to say that she was Joseph’s live-in girlfriend, told officers who her boyfriend was and said he was intoxicated. The FBI connection then showed up when the officers checked his name against computer records.

Patrol Officer Michael Zachannini brought in his K-9 dog and soon found Joseph, who was caught after a brief chase.

-- Journal staff writer Thomas J. Morgan

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 5:49 PM | Permalink

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