Johnston officer nabs would-be robber

JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - A routine patrol Sunday night turned into anything but for a Johnston Police officer.

Officer Joseph Salvadore was driving past the Bread House on Greenville Avenue when he spotted two men with bandanas over their faces walking towards it - and one of them was pulling a rifle out of his sweatpants.

Salvadore immediately knew they were going to rob the store so he radioed for backup and jumped out of his cruiser.

Meanwhile, the two men barged into the store brandishing the rifle and trained it on owner Mouhiddin Hajjar.

But Hajjar noticed that the weapon was a BB gun - so he drew his own pistol, causing the robbers to drop the fake gun and head for the door.

That's where they encountered Officer Salvadore, who was waiting for them outside with his own weapon drawn.  They took off and Salvadore - still without backup yet - chased down Jonathan Richards Thurber and arrested him.

An hour later other officers tracked down the second man and arrested Daniel Osler at his home.

Johnston and several other neighboring communities have had a rash of armed robberies lately and police are now looking into whether or not these two men are connected to any of them.