NORTH SMITHFIELD – At least four police departments from Rhode Island and Massachusetts were involved in chasing a stolen car and tracking down the occupants of the vehicle – including a small child – after they fled the vehicle on foot near the Blackstone-North Smithfield line.
Lutoniqua Roberson, 28, of 237 Rathbun St., Woonsocket, is charged with child endangerment, driving off in a vehicle without the owner’s consent and eluding police in a high-speed pursuit following his arrest about about mid-day on Friday, Oct. 31.
Tracking a report of a stolen Mercedes traveling on Eddie Dowling Highway, police from North Smithfield and Woonsocket chased the vehicle at speeds substantially above the posted limits after spotting it entering the Park Square area. They reportedly broke off the pursuit after a short distance, however, for safety reasons.
A short time later, members of the Rhode Island State Police stopped the vehicle near the Blackstone-North Smithfield line on St. Paul Street, at which point the occupants ran off. Police figured out who was in the vehicle: four adults, including two women, a small child, Roberson and another adult male – from looking at surveillance footage from a camera at Divine Mercy Church on St. Paul Street…