Apart from the coronavirus, it’s tempting to forget that our pleasant, safe community is vulnerable to anything more than typical small-town crime, but the U.S. District Attorney for Rhode Island included Tiverton in a list of towns hit by a national crew of thieves:
An alleged leader of a series of schemes in several states to steal and sell nearly $700,000 worth of excavators, sport boats, jet skis, all-terrain vehicles, and trailers has been apprehended in Winter Park, Florida.
Jose A. Montes, aka Jose Rivera, aka “Tuto”, 36, of Cranston, indicted by a federal grand jury in Providence on November 20, 2020, on charges of interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, was apprehended Wednesday without incident by members of a United States Marshals Service Task Force, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman and United States Marshal Wing Chau. …
It is alleged that members of the conspiracy, often times using rented and stolen trucks, hauled away the stolen excavators, boats, jet skis, ATVs, and trailers from businesses in South Kingstown and Tiverton, RI; Auburn, Rehoboth, and Easton, MA; Waterford, Vernon, and Stafford, CT; and Hampstead, NH. Many of the stolen items were stored in Providence, Johnston, Warwick, North Providence, Scituate, and Glocester, R.I. Several of the stolen items were hauled to Florida to be sold.
According to the indictment, Montes and one of his group “forcibly entered” Don’s Marine on Main Road and stole two boats and their trailers in the final days of 2019, transporting them to Florida two days later. The indictment charges Montes with 13 counts, each with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His alleged accomplices individually face a mixture of the same counts.
Tiverton Police Chief Patrick Jones confirmed that members of the town’s detective division “were involved in the investigation.”
Featured image: Aerial photo of Don’s Marine from Bing maps.
