Providence Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Two Home Invasions

Providence Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Two Home Invasions

A Providence man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison following two home invasions, announced Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Juan Velasquez, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of burglary before Providence Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause on Wednesday.

He was sentenced to 35 years with 17 years to serve at the ACI and the balance suspended with probation.

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Guilty Plea

According to the Attorney General’s office, had the cases proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that on the night of June 25, 2018, Velasquez made a forced entry into an apartment located on Hanover Street in Providence.

Inside the apartment, the family was rounded up at gunpoint, bound with cords, threatened with two guns and a kitchen knife and one victim was pistol-whipped. The victims were robbed of cash and jewelry and the apartment was ransacked.

The Attorney General’s office adds that the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that on July 27, 2018, Velasquez made a forced entry into an apartment located on Chestnut Hill Avenue in Cranston.

Victims were also held at gunpoint, bound with cords and robbed of cash and jewelry.

Velasquez was identified by victims in both cases and caught on a doorbell surveillance camera at the Cranston residence.