Crime & Safety
Two Arrested in Johnston Burlington Coat Factory Scheme, Says JPD
The Johnston Police Department provided this information to Johnston Patch. Where an arrest is noted, it does not indicate a conviction.
Two men in their 40s face larceny and conspiracy charges following their arrest by Johnston Police on Aug. 8 at about 1 p.m.
Employees of the Burlington Coat Factory on Atwood Avenue told police that Edmond Varan, 40, and 47-year-old James Silva, both of Providence, removed sensor tags from $86 in wristwatches.
Loss prevention staffers then identified Varan [alias James Hartman] as the suspect in a July 29 theft, which also drew Varan a felony shoplifting charge and a habitual shoplifter allegation for the $379 worth of watches taken in that incident.
Varan pleaded not guilty at arraignment for the new charges on Aug. 9. A pre-trial is scheduled for Aug. 23. In a separate hearing, Varan met bail terms until his next hearing on Oct. 11 on the felony and habitual charges.
According to online court records, Silva had recently completed a six-month term at the Adult Correctional Institutions imposed after he entered a no-contest plea in January to a felony shoplifting charge. He was serving a 54-month suspended sentence with probation at the time of his arrest, and is scheduled for an Aug. 22 violation hearing in Providence Superior Court.
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