Stolen beer truck leads slow police chase; driver's bond in fraud case quickly revoked
PROVIDENCE — A Cranston man who was arrested behind the wheel of a stolen beer truck Monday was charged Tuesday morning in District Court, Providence, while in District Court, Warwick, where his freedom was being revoked by a finding that he had violated the terms of his release in a bank fraud case.
In the Warwick action, Jeremy Fellela, 44, was ordered held without bail. He had been released on his own recognizance Sept. 30 after he was charged with four counts of bank fraud, each with related charges of obtaining property by false pretenses, writing fraudulent checks, passing counterfeit certificates, bills, or notes, and conspiracy, all stemming from a June 8 incident investigated by the Rhode Island State Police.
On Monday, after a utility pole stopped the stolen beer truck, Fellela was taken into custody by Providence police. He was charged Tuesday with possessing a stolen vehicle, driving to endanger, eluding police and refusing to have his blood-alcohol level measured.
He was referred to the public defender and given an April 4 pre-arraignment date. Bond was set at $5,000 with surety, meaning he could post $500 cash or property worth the full amount. He was ordered to be monitored for substance abuse.
The Warwick order prevails, so he'll wait at the Adult Correctional Institutions for his Jan. 28 appearance in the fraud case.
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Police described Monday's chase as starting when a man jumped into a McLaughlin and Moran truck making a delivery at A to Z Liquors, 319 Douglas Ave., and drove away. The store is at Douglas and Chad Brown Street, across from St. Patrick's Cemetery in the Wanskuck neighborhood.
Police followed, watching beverages slide off the back, through the still-open rear door, and fall to the road. The chase ended at Isabella and Longwood Avenues in the Elmhurst neighborhood, about 1.8 miles from where it started, when the truck hit a utility pole and got wedged. The driver was arrested without incident, police said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cranston man's arrest in stolen beer truck lands him at ACI in fraud case
