PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — A Pawtucket man is facing serious charges after police say he intentionally hit and wounded another man with his pickup truck Monday night.
James Rohelia, 49, of Grace Street, was arrested around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday following a brief standoff with detectives, according to police.
Police said they responded around 11 p.m. to the Wendy’s on Broad Street and arrived to find the victim lying unresponsive in the rear parking lot.
Eyewitnesses told police the two men got into an argument in the nearby Walgreens that spilled out into the parking lot. Police allege Rohelia then got into his truck and drove at the victim, hitting him with the truck before driving off.
The victim, identified only as a 31-year-old Central Falls man, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital with serious head trauma. At last check, he was still unconscious but in stable condition, police said.
The truck was later recovered by city detectives at Woodlawn Auto Service on Mineral Spring Avenue, where Detective Sgt. Timothy Graham says Rohelia apparently ditched it and removed the license plates.
Surveillance video shown to Eyewitness News by the owner of the auto shop shows a man walking across the lot at 11:48 p.m., holding what appears to be a license plate.
Detectives returned to the shop Tuesday afternoon to search for the plates and other evidence in the parking lot and the grounds of a cemetery next door. It’s unclear to whom the truck belongs; Graham said it was unregistered.
Rohelia is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of assault with intent to commit murder, felony assault, simple assault, duty to stop after an accident resulting in serious injury, disorderly conduct and driving with a suspended license.
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact Det. David Silva at (401) 640-0709 or (401) 727-9100 ext. 760.
