Man Arrested for East Side B&E Has Dozen Charges in Last 5 Years—and Suspended Sentences
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Providence police this week arrested a suspect they say has an “extensive history” of theft and breaking and entering in the city.
A GoLocal review of the court records of the suspect arrested -- Harrie Wheeler, age 48 -- shows that over the last five years, he has been charged on a dozen counts, six felonies and six misdemeanors in total.
On a handful of those occasions, Wheeler was ordered to substance abuse counseling.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCourt filings, however, show that Wheeler continues to only be given suspended sentences, despite prior orders of probation. Wheeler has repeatedly spent time in prison awaiting sentencing, according to the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.
“I can tell you is that, even though his first sentence appeared to be in 2005, his record with us goes back to 1994,” J.R. Ventura, the spokesperson for the RI Department of Corrections, told GoLocal on Friday.
“He was in and out a few times until 2007. Then nothing until 2017 and then again 2018, 2021 (mainly probation in 2021) and finally 2022, with charges pending,” Ventura added. “Even though his incarceration time is not much, he has been involved with the system for a long time.”
Bike Theft Caught on Camera
This week, police apprehended Wheeler, after a resident on Providence’s East Side provided doorbell camera footage of a man stealing a bike from his garage.
Wheeler reportedly then returned just days later for another robbery attempt at the same location -- again, caught on video.
The victim met with Providence police detectives on Wednesday, April 13, and provided the video footage of the theft that had occurred shortly after 4 AM on April 5 on Lorraine Avenue on the East Side, as well as the subsequent attempt.
According to police, they recognized the man in the video as Wheeler from his prior charges — including a booking photo from March.
Police said they then located Wheeler shortly before noon on Wednesday, as he was walking in the area of Atwells Avenue and America Street on Federal Hill.
He was placed into custody without incident and transported to Central Station. He is been charged with one count of unlawful breaking and entering
In and Out of Courts
Court records show the following incident dates and charges for Wheeler — and what judicial action resulted.
September 7, 2017: Breaking and entering buildings with criminal intent (felony); conspiracy (felony). In 2019, given three year suspended sentence by Judge Stephen Nugent
March 22, 2018: Larceny > $1,500 (felony); injuring or tampering with vehicles (misdemeanor). In 2019, given three year suspended sentence and probation by Judge Patrick Burke.
April 2, 2018: Larceny < $1,500 (misdemeanor); injuring or tampering with vehicles (misdemeanor); larceny > $1,500 (felony); injuring or tampering with vehicles.
June 11, 2018: Larceny < $1,500 (misdemeanor). Given one year suspended sentence by Judge Anthony Capraro along with substance abuse counseling, restitution, and no-trespassing order.
September 6, 2018: Larceny < $1,500 (misdemeanor). Given one year suspended sentence and one year probation by Capraro.
June 5, 2021: Unlawful breaking and entering of a dwelling house (felony). Given five year suspended sentence and five years probation by Judge Joseph Montalbano
September 23, 2021. Attempted larceny < $1,500 (misdemeanor). Status conference scheduled for April 20, 2022.
April 5, 2022: Unlawful breaking and entering of a dwelling house (felony). Status conference scheduled for April 20, 2022.
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