Stolen Firearm Seized After Providence Police Respond to Shots Fired Overnight
GoLocalProv News Team
Stolen Firearm Seized After Providence Police Respond to Shots Fired Overnight
Shortly after 2 a.m, a report was made of shots fired at 823 Potters Avenue. Police arrived on the scene, and eventually pursued a vehicle of interest -- where they found a stolen Smith and Wesson revolver that contained five discarded cartridges of ammunition.
The incident comes after police seized loaded weapons on the East Side of Providence earlier in the week, after shots were fired by University Heights.
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On 9/5/20 at approximately 0209 hours, police responded to the area of 823 Potters Ave for a report of shots fired. Dispatch advised responding units that the complainant had heard approximately 3 gunshots, and heard a vehicle accelerating towards Cranston St. As police approached the scene, they observed a vehicl stopped in the middle of the intersection of Cranston St and Potters Ave.
Police observed two male subjects to be standing outside of the vehicle. Police approached both subjects and performed a Terry Frisk for weapons. A brief search of the vehicles interior was performed while other responding units began to search the area of 823 Potters Ave for a crime scene. After this brief search of the driver and passenger compartment, the subjects were released from the scene.
Simultaneously, dispatch informed units on scene that the initial complainant had called back and stated that "the vehicle police just had stopped" contained a firearm. Police maintained visual contact with the vehicle as it traveled outbound on Cranston St and turned into the parking lot of 775 Cranston St (7-Eleven). Poilce entered the parking lot and affected a motor vehicle stop. As police approached from the front of the vehicle, his attention was immediately drawn towards one of the subjects, who was sitting in the passenger seat who was observed to be staring blankly straight ahead before blading his body towards the center console area of the vehicle.
Knowing this behavior to be consistent with a subject attempting to conceal a weapon, police approached the subject and removed him from the vehicle. Upon doing so, the subject was observed to be visibly nervous with an accelerated heart rate. A Terry Frisk was performed at which time police inquired as to whether or not there was a firearm in the vehicle. Immediately upon hearing this question, the subject appeared to become dazed, slouched over, and dropped his body weight. The subjects were detained in marked police vehicles pending further investigation.
Police then responded back to the vehicle and began to focus on the center console area where he had observed the subject blading his body. The paneling around the edges of the vehicles shifter was observed to be slightly misaligned. Through prior training and experience, police know that this area contains a natural void in many vehicles which can be utilized to conceal a firearm. Police observed that this misaligned portion of paneling was able to be removed with little effort. Upon removing this paneling, police observed a silver revolver to be resting inside of the natural void. Both subjects were immediately placed into handcuffs, and BCI was notified.
BCI Detectives arrived on scene and were directed to the center console area of the vehicle. The firearm was removed, and it was observed to be a Smith and Wesson Airweight revolver (SN: DDN6887). Upon further inspection of the firearm, it was observed to contain five (5) discharged cartridges of ammunition. A check of the firearm's serial number revealed that it was actively stolen out of Westerly, RI.
One subject was transported to Central Station without incident where he was TOT Detectives for formal charging; the other subject was released on scene.