The Rhode Island State Police today announced that a multi-year investigation, known as Operation Brick Houses, has led to the arrests of 11 individuals with gang affiliations responsible for violent offenses in the Providence area, on various dates from October 2023 to the present. During this investigation, 130 search warrants were executed. As a result, members of law enforcement seized 5 firearms, 6 high capacity feeding devices, approximately 738 grams of illegal narcotics, and approximately $42,000 in cash.
This investigation was initiated following a highway shooting that occurred on October 21, 2023, on Route 95, in front of the Providence Place Mall. From information gathered during the highway shooting investigation, detectives developed actionable evidence that revealed a network of organized criminals engaged in violent firearms-related offenses, narcotics trafficking, and fraud. With the collaboration of Pawtucket and Johnston Police Departments, two additional violent incidents were identified, to include the use of GPS tracking devices to target intended victims in two separate shootings, on November 24, 2023, on Moshassuck Industrial Highway in Pawtucket and, on May 26, 2024, on John Street in Johnston.
This investigation was spearheaded through the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant program. PSN is a multi-jurisdictional intelligence and information sharing project. Participating agencies in this investigation included the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, the Pawtucket Police Department, the Johnston Police Department, the Providence Police Department, the West Warwick Police Department, and the U.S. Marshal Service. This investigation also included the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police Violent Fugitive Task Force and HIDTA Task Force…