Man pleads guilty to Providence murder

A Cranston man pleaded guilty last week to murder and other charges in connection with an October 2014 killing in Providence.

Tevin Briggs, 21, entered the plea in Providence Superior Court and will be sentenced at a later date, according to the office of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. He was charged with murder, conspiracy, three counts of discharging a firearm while in commission of a crime of violence, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of carrying a firearm without a license.

The plea unsealed a secret indictment against Briggs and three other defendants – Antonio Fortes and Bruce Moten, both 25, and an unnamed co-conspirator – in connection with the slaying of Terry Robinson.

According to Kilmartin’s office, prosecutors were prepared to prove that on Oct. 22, 2014, Briggs, Moten and the unnamed party – all said to be members of the YNIC gang – were driving around Providence while looking for members of the rival Chad Brown gang. Prosecutors say Fortes then called to notify them he had located members of the Chad Brown gang in a black Toyota Camry outside a convenience store near the Chad Brown housing complex.

Prosecutors say the men found the Camry in a parking lot on Fillmore Street, and that Moten and Briggs then began walking toward the car and firing shots at its fleeing passengers.

Robinson was struck in the head by a bullet, while Delacy Andrade was struck in the buttock, according to prosecutors. A third individual was not shot.

Prosecutors say the men then ran back to the vehicle driven by the unnamed co-conspirator and fled to a house on Tappan Street in Providence. The weapons used in the shooting have yet to be recovered.

Fortes and Morten are currently incarcerated in connection with separate charges, according to Kilmartin’s office. They are both set to be arraigned May 1. Briggs has been held without bail since his January arrest on an unrelated firearms charge. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the unnamed co-conspirator.

Sentenced issued in 2012 sexual assault

A 40-year prison sentence, with 25 years to serve, has been handed down for a Cranston man convicted of a 2012 sexual assault.

Andre Marizan, 25, with a last known address of 225 Norwood Ave., will serve the remainder of the sentence on probation. He was additionally ordered to have no contact with the victim, to undergo sex offender counseling, and to comply with registration and notification requirements for sex offenders following his release.

Marizan was found guilty of first-degree sexual assault in January following a four-day trial. The charge stemmed from an Aug. 18, 2012 incident.

According to the attorney general’s office, Marizan and the victim had known one another for several years. They had been drinking and smoking marijuana at a friend’s residence for several hours on the evening of the day in question.

Prosecutors said the victim passed out in a bedroom, and in the morning woke to find herself partially clothed, with what she believed to be semen on her body and Marizan lying next to her. She went to Women & Infants Hospital, and a sexual assault kit was performed. The incident was also reported to Providence police. A subsequent analysis by the Rhode Island Department of Health found Marizan’s DNA was a match for the DNA from the sexual assault kit.

“Despite the trauma of being sexually abused, by going to the hospital for a rape kit and reporting the assault to the police, this young woman courageously took the steps that eventually led to her abuser being found guilty,” Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said through a press release. “April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities on how to prevent it. This year’s theme reminds us that everyone can play a role in stopping sexual assault and that we must work together to educate our community about sexual violence prevention, supporting survivors and speaking out against harmful attitudes and actions. When we all play a role we can prevent sexual violence.”

St. Jude Home Care owner charged with Medicaid fraud

The owner of St. Jude Home Care in Cranston has been charged with multiple counts of Medicaid fraud.

Priscilla Pascale, 54, of Barrington, was arraigned last week in Providence Superior Court and released on $10,000 personal recognizance. She is charged with five counts each of Medicaid fraud and conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud. Her next court date is scheduled for June 29.

Orfa Lemaire, 37, of East Greenwich, who works as St. Jude Home Care’s director of clinical services, has also been charged with five counts of conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud, and will be arraigned later this month.

The office of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin alleges that between 2010 and 2013, St. Jude – located at 445 Reservoir Ave. – placed unlicensed certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, in the homes of patients, and fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $785,000 for CNA services.

According to a press release, the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services Program Integrity Unit referred the matter to the attorney general’s office “after it was discovered through a routine audit that St. Jude was submitting billing forms with what is alleged to be altered dates that fraudulently reported in-home nursing surveys had been conducted on high-acuity patients.”

The release continues: “While checking further into that aspect of the case, the Program Integrity Unit discovered what is alleged to be time sheets for billing that had been submitted by persons who were not licensed CNAs.”

Once the matter was referred to the attorney general’s office, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit initiated a formal investigation. The U.S. Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, through a separate action, revoked St. Jude’s certification on July 15, 2014, ending the company’s ability to receive Medicare payments. The state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services suspended the company from the Rhode Island Medical Assistance Program on July 20, 2014.

St. Jude also has locations in Barrington and Pawtucket.

Guilty plea expected in TDI, unemployment fraud case

A Coventry man who owns a pair of temporary employment agencies in Cranston is expected to admit fraudulently obtaining TDI and unemployment insurance benefits from the state by claiming injury and laying himself off, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

Paul Spremulli, 54, is accused of applying for and collecting approximately $63,789 in benefits under false pretenses. He is charged with wire fraud, and according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, a plea agreement filed in the case would require him to pay full restitution. 

Spremulli is the owner and president of PKS Associates and Temp Depot. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Labor found that “at various times between February 2008 and May 2013, Paul Spremulli allegedly falsely claimed that he had either become incapacitated and was unable to work or that he had been laid off from his own businesses in order to collect TDI benefits and unemployment insurance benefits from the state of Rhode Island.”

Prosecutors allege Spremulli improperly received $31,245 in TDI payments, and $32,994 in unemployment insurance benefits.

Police begin training in autism protocols

The Cranston Police Department this week began an in-service training program meant to help officers recognize the signs of autism and autism spectrum disorder and learn the best practices for interacting with those afflicted.

According to a statement from Chief of Police Col. Michael J. Winquist, Officer Jason Head of the Newport Police Department is leading the instruction. All Cranston officers will attend the training.

“I want to publicly thank Officer Head of the Newport Police Department for providing this invaluable training that will ensure our officers are best equipped to handle this unique mental disability,” Winquist said in the statement. “Persons with autism are estimated to have up to seven times more contacts with law enforcement agencies during their lifetimes, yet only 20 percent of patrol responses related to autistic individuals involve criminal activity. By providing our officers with basic information about how to best approach and communicate with someone with autism, whether it is an emergency or non-emergency situation, we will be able to prevent behavioral escalation and resolve a situation easily.”