A chase on foot at about 1:30 a.m. Monday morning ended with a suspect's arrest in the dead end behind Josiah's and the East Side Mini-Mart. The suspect, according to his pursuer, Justin Glavis-Bloom '07, fled from Grad Center Tower A clutching a PlayStation, which he managed to hold on to for the duration of the chase.
Herald Copy Desk Chief Lela Spielberg '07, the only resident of her suite awake when the larceny occurred, said she had kept the main door of the suite open to let in Glavis-Bloom. They were studying when the suspect entered the suite and grabbed the PlayStation from an empty bedroom, she said.
Glavis-Bloom saw the thief leaving the other room when he left Spielberg's room, he said. "I went out and opened the door (into the suite's hallway) and out of this (room) came this African-American guy. At first I was like, 'Hey, how's it going,' thinking he might be one of (the suitemates') friends, and then he just starts running."
Spielberg said the suspect was leaving the room of an out-of-town suitemate - the owner of the PlayStation - though Glavis-Bloom said they did not know it was the suitemate's PlayStation until the next morning.
Glavis-Bloom said he chased the man without thinking about it despite being shod in flip-flops, one of which he said he lost during the pursuit. He said the chase led him out the back door of Grad Center, through mud and slush, across Thayer Street, through the parking lot behind the East Side Mini-Mart and into the dead end.
Once they reached the parking lot at the Mini-Mart, Glavis-Bloom said, he lost the suspect until a student directed him to the alley behind Jo's, at which point a Department of Public Safety officer saw the chase and joined Glavis-Bloom. They found the suspect crouched in the dead end with the PlayStation. The officer subdued the suspect and held him to the ground, Glavis-Bloom said.
Talking to the DPS officer that apprehended the thief, Glavis-Bloom learned the officer first thought Glavis-Bloom was "exercising" until realizing he was wearing a single flip-flop and a polo shirt, running on Power Street at 1:30 a.m. Glavis-Bloom said the officer quickly realized what was happening and joined pursuit within seconds.
Backup arrived quickly, Glavis-Bloom added. "There were like three more DPS cars and three Providence cars in like 20 seconds."
Providence Police informed Glavis-Bloom that the thief had around 15 prior arrests, some of which included shoplifting, possession of heroin, heroin dealing and carrying unlicensed firearms, he said. Glavis-Bloom added that, according to the police, the man arrested was out on parole and would probably be sentenced to five to eight more years in prison upon his arraignment, scheduled for today.
Providence Police were unavailable to comment on the arrest.
Spielberg said DPS arrived at her suite only a few minutes after she placed the call and took her and Glavis-Bloom to the Providence Police station downtown. The police were "wonderful," she said.
