Johnston Man Charged with 6 Counts of Assaulting Officers

Five Johnston Police officers reported injuries following the arrest of a Johnston man charged in two prior cases of reckless driving and sought in a third.

Anthony Furia, 20, formerly of North Providence, faces six felony counts of assaulting a police officer, one felony count of threatening public officials, and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

He is also facing charges of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license from a Sept. 13 incident, and remains held at the Adult Correctional Institutions, Cranston.

Earlier this year, Furia was arrested twice within two weeks following two high-speed chases in Johnston.

In one case, police reported that Furia tried to use his car to ram a police cruiser after officers went to an Indian Vally Drive home where Furia had sat outside beeping the horn of his car at 5 am.

[Read more — Driver Surrenders After Chase, Apr. 4, 2012; JPD: Suspect Tried to Drive into Cruiser, Apr. 18, 2012]

Prior to his latest arrest, police reported that they suspected Furia in a Sept. 13 chase where the driver escaped from officers.

On Sept. 14 at about 10 pm, Ptlm. Kevin Brady reported that he was patrolling the area near Nutmeg Drive when he saw a male — whom he recognized as Furia — standing outside a home there.

Brady wrote that Furia ran into the garage, closing the door behind him, and went into the home.

Several more officers responded to the scene to set up a perimeter "to ensure that [Furia] did not escape," Brady reported.

A few minutes later, Furia stood at a second-floor window and yelled to Brady that he was "not [expletive] coming out, you can stand there all day," adding that officers would "have to come in and pull me out."

Brady then reported that he heard a woman yelling from within the house and "suspected a disturbance was taking place."

The officers then went into the house, with Capt. Frank Levesque and Sgt. Michael Babbitt already involved "in a violent struggle" with Furia when Brady arrived, according to Brady's report.

Levesque reported that Furia charged at him and drove him into a dresser, then punched him in the head at tried to take Levesque's gun away from him.

According to Levesque's report, he used his flashlight to strike Furia, hitting him in the face and causing a cut below Furia's left eye, before other officers assisted in handcuffing Furia.

Outside the room, Furia "continued to resist arrest," Levesque wrote.

After taking hold of Furia's shoulders and bringing him to the floor, Brady reported that Furia punched him twice in the face.

Once the officers restrained Furia again, Brady said he then tried to bring Furia downstairs and outside. On the way down the stairs, Furia tried to knock Brady down the stairs and lost his footing, falling down three stairs and hitting his head against the wall.

Lt. Joseph Razza, Babbitt, and Ptlmn. Steven Altomari, Derek Parascondolo, and Michael Protano all reported injuries following the incident.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

Levesque also reported that, once outside the house, Furia told him: "I'm only going to get six months [expletive], and I'm gonna [expletive] kill you when I get out," leading to the charge of threatening a public official.

Officers brought Furia to Rhode Island State Police Headquarters to be held in the detention area there, since the Johnston Police station's cell block was under renovation, according to Maj. Daniel Parrillo.

The next morning, officers brought Furia for arraignment before Justice of the Peace Emily Vaziri, and Asst. Atty. Gen. Judy Laliberte presented Furia for violating terms of bail set in June from the charges filed in the Apr. 14 incident.

Vaziri set surety bail at $15,000 in the Sept. 13 reckless driving case and $15,000 in the police officer assault case, and ordered Furia held at the ACI on the bail violation.

During the hearing, Det. James Brady reported, Furia "continued to rant and rave" about his arrest the day before.

Furia claimed that "he is going to make a ton of money off the Johnston Police Department" because officers could not prove he had been driving the car involved in the Sept. 13 chase — then stated: "I dust you guys in that car every time, and you will never catch me, just like I dusted that cop the other day."

[Officers impounded the car, a 2006 Subaru Legacy, after arresting Furia.]

According to Det. Brady, Furia also said that he expected his attorney, William Dimitri to "have [him] out by Monday," and that officers "really [expletive] up this time," indicating the cut near his eye.

Furia was already serving a six-month suspended sentence on a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault brought by Smithfield Police. He pleaded no contest on Apr. 26, and at a violation hearing on Sept. 24, District Court Judge Pamela Woodcock-Pfeiffer scheduled another hearing for Oct. 1.

He previously appeared at probation and suspended sentence violation hearings on Sept. 17 stemming from the March 31 case. Judge Frank Cenerini ordered Furia to serve five months in prison for violating the terms of the one-year suspended sentence, and Judge Anthony Capraro sentenced Furia to a three-month prison term for violating terms of probation.