Crime & Safety
Woonsocket Man Arrested for Stealing and Crashing Jeep
The 20-year old put registration plates belonging to another vehicle on the stolen Jeep, Woonsocket Police reported. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.
A 20-year-old Woonsocket man faces felony counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and conspiracy after Woonsocket Police say he crashed a stolen Jeep into a utility pole on Front Street.
Jesse Ortiz was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions following a hearing in Sixth District Court on July 30.
According to Woonsocket Police, Ortiz is the main suspect in the July 20 accident, where Det. Patrick McGourty reported he found a black Jeep unoccupied after it apparently hit the utility pole, splitting in half.
McGourty noted that a check of the registration plates on the Jeep showed that they belonged to a blue Jeep, and later investigation determined that the vehicle had been stolen.
Officers arrested Ortiz on July 29 at about 12:30 p.m. and brought him to court the next day.
Ortiz also awaits trial on a misdemeanor shoplifting charge brought by Providence Police, and felony counts of breaking and entering and larceny, plus a misdemeanor count of vandalism, brought by North Smithfield Police.
He is due for formal arraignment on the North Smithfield charges on Aug. 15.
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