Crime & Safety
JPD Issues Report On Weekend Stabbing
According to police, Luis Cartagena stabbed Leroy Johnson, of Johnston, following a fight on Saturday, Oct. 15.
charged a Providence man with one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of weapons possession after he reportedly stabbed a Johnston man on Oct. 15.
During an interview at police headquarters this morning, Maj. Michael A. Colucci said that Luis Cartagena, 40, of Providence, accompanied two women to 776 Hartford Ave., unit 13, at about 10 a.m. on Saturday so that one of the women could pick up some of her belongings.
According to Colucci, the victim, identified as Leroy Johnson, had previously shared the home with the woman, Elizabeth Crosby, of Warwick. Cartagena was identified in police reports as the boyfriend of Crosby's daughter, who was also at the scene.
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Crosby, who owns the trailer, told police that she brought Cartagena with her "in case there was a problem" with Johnson, Colucci said.
When the three arrived at Johnson's trailer, Colucci explained, Johnson allowed the two women to go inside, but refused to let Cartagena enter.
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Johnson and Cartagena gave police conflicting reports about what happened next — each said the other acted aggressively and triggered the fight.
As the two men argued, Johnson reportedly called his roommate, identified as David Mulhearn, and asked him for help. Mulhearn left the nearby auto body shop where he was working, and later told police that he saw Cartagena punch Johnson.
During the fight, police reported, Cartagena allegedly punched Johnson several times and stabbed him twice with a kitchen knife, once in the back of the thigh and once in the shoulder area.
Johnson then pushed Cartagena into a van parked nearby, causing Cartagena to drop the knife. Once Johnson picked up the knife, Mulhearn told police, Cartagena went back to his car and picked up a second weapon, identified in police reports as a homemade club.
Ptlm. Marc Bairos arrived at the scene at about 12:30 p.m. to find Johnson and Cartagena facing each other, each holding a weapon. Following Cartagena's arrest, officers also found a "shank-type weapon" in one of his pants pockets.
Cartagena later told police he had brought the knife and club for self-defense if a problem arose with Johnson, and that he carries the shank "because of the neighborhood he lives in," Colucci wrote, "and did not bring it to assault Johnson."
Colucci's report also states that he interviewed Johnson at Rhode Island Hospital and learned that Johnson and Cartagena did not know each other before the incident. Johnson was treated for the stab wounds and released.
Cartagena was arraigned on Oct. 15 and released on $20,000 personal recognizance until a scheduled Dec. 12 felony pre-arraignment conference in Sixth District Court.
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